The Advantage of Repair of Mitral Valve in Acute Endocarditis
Leonid Sternik MD, Kenton J. Zehr MD, Thomas A. Orszulak MD, Charles J. Mullany MD, Richard C. Daly MD, Hartzell V. Schaff MD

It is unclear whether repair offers an advantage for patients undergoing mitral valve surgery for active endocarditis. Between September 1986 and July 1999, 44 patients with acute native mitral valve endocarditis underwent surgery; 28 had valve replacement, and 16 underwent repair. There were six in-hospital (21%) and six late cardiac deaths (21%) in the valve replacement group. There were no early deaths or late cardiac deaths in the repair group. Five patients undergoing valve replacement required reoperation due to recurrent endocarditis compared with none in the repair group (p = 0.065). Early and late mortality and event-free survival were better in patients undergoing mitral valve repair compared with valve replacement for acute endocarditis.