Mitral Commissurotomy

Ten years have passed since the first successful mitral commissurotomy was performed.1 During these years countless such operations have been done by surgeons all over the world, and there have been many reports of the early results of this procedure. Long-term follow-up studies are essential in the evaluation of any operative procedure. Studies of this type that have been reported 2-8 indicate that the condition of between two-thirds and three-fourths of the patients operated on is improved. Now that it is possible to operate successfully on the open heart, it is more important than ever to evaluate the long-term results of a closed technique. The question will inevitably arise as to whether open-heart techniques should be used in the treatment of some or even all patients with mitral stenosis. With this in mind the present study was undertaken. The first 131 patients operated on at the Mayo Clinic, of whom there were 120 survivors of the postoperative period in the hospital, form the basis of this report. Short-Term ResultsThe early results of these 131 operations were reported previously9 (Table 1). There were 11 operative deaths. Of the 94 sur¬ viving patients followed in the original study, 87.2% had an excellent result or achieved significant improvement. When the 11 operative deaths are included, operation was of benefit to 78.1% of the patients so treated. The follow-up period in this study varied from 3 months to 3 years, averaging 13.1 months.

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