A Systematic Review of Mitral Valve Repair With Autologous Pericardial Leaflet Augmentation for Rheumatic Mitral Regurgitation

A systematic review was conducted to assess the efficacy of mitral valve repair using glutaraldehyde-treated autologous pericardial leaflet augmentation for rheumatic mitral regurgitation (MR). Five retrospective studies were identified, which included 196 patients with moderate or greater MR. There was 1 operative death (0.5%). At a mean follow-up of 3.2 ± 2.2 years, moderate or greater MR reoccurred in 22 patients (11.2%), reoperation was required in 9 (4.6%), and the cumulative survival was 98.9%. Finally, outcomes were similar between the patients who underwent augmentation of the anterior vs the posterior mitral leaflet. Pericardial leaflet augmentation is a viable technique for the treatment of rheumatic MR.