Morphometric Study of Mitral Valve in South Odisha - A Cadaveric Study

Abstract

BACKGROUND The heart is a pair of valved muscular pumps combined in a single organ. For the proper functioning of the heart, all valves should be intact. Mitral valve (MV) prolapse and regurgitation is the main cause of MV replacement. The dimensions of mitral valve and the cusps vary from person to person. We wanted to measure the average size of the valve components with respect to the annulus in the cadavers of South Odisha region, which would help in the selection of prosthetic valve in cardiac surgery. METHODS This comparative study was carried out on 58 adult cadaveric human hearts. Left atrium was opened along the left border of heart so as to expose the mitral orifice. Parameters of different components ofthe valve were measured by using appropriate instruments. RESULTS The mean annular circumference of the mitral valve was found to be 8.84 ± 1.24 cm; The annular attachment and height of anterior cusp were 2.94 ± .81 cm and 2.55 ± 0.27 cm respectively. The annular attachment and height of posterior cusp were 4.52 ± 0.78 cm and 1.2 ± 0.17 respectively. The annular area was found to be 5.22 ± 1.13 cm2. The combined cusp area was found to be 9.38 ± 2.32 cm. CONCLUSIONS The size of mitral valve parameters in the South Odisha region were found to be less compared to other studies. This study might help cardio-thoracic surgeons as well as the prosthetic valve manufacturing companies for the rough estimation of the mitral valve size. KEY WORDS Mitral Valve, Anterior Cusp, Posterior Cusp, Annular Circumference, Annular Valve Area and Combined Cusp Area