| Abstract | 「Introduction」Mitral regurgitation is a relatively common finding in patients having cardiac surgery. In addition to those patients with rheumatic and myxomatous mitral valve disease, 10-40% of patients with a prior myocardial infarction have mitral regurgitation. Because it is potentially harmful to needlessly replace a mitral valve or to leave a significantly diseased valve, the clinical decision regarding the surgical intervention is extremely important. Furthermore, incomplete preoperative evaluation and the changing nature of mitral regurgitation1), often necessitate intraoperative determination of mitral regurgitation. This assessment of the mitral valve is one of the most important applications of intraoperative echocardiogaphy. The importance lies in the fact that this assessment frequently dictates the ultimate surgical decisions regarding whether or not to intervene, how to intervene, and was the intervention successful. 「Mitral Valve Anatomy」One of the most important questions answered by intraoperative echocardiogaphy is to define the anatomy of the mitral valve, and to elucidate the mechanism of mitral regurgitation. |
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