Surgical Management of Mitral Valve Endocarditis

Abstract

Before the antibiotic era and cardiac surgery, infective endocarditis (IE) was a predominantly fatal disease. In-hospital mortality persists relatively high despite development in medical and surgical treatment. Adequate timing and surgical management of the infected valve help prevent substantially early and late mortality. The surgical approach of mitral valve endocarditis should be based on extension of the disease and annular involvement. When the valve and annulus are severely affected, the best option is to perform a complete excision and mitral valve replacement (MVR). Only if the disease is limited to the valvular tissue, mitral valve repair is the preferred surgical option.