FASAVA Congress 2017

Congenital and acquired mitral valve incompetence and mitral stenosis are considered surgical diseases in man and yet for years the veterinary profession has persisted with medical therapy for this condition.  This is, most likely, for reasons of cost and expertise required for surgical therapy.  Several groups around the world have shown that mitral valve surgery is possible and one group from Japan have shown amazing consistency of short term and long term results following open surgical mitral valve repair.  The techniques required for these therapies, replacement of chordae tendinae and mitral annuloplasty, are demanding and challenging but the rewards can be excellent.  This session will describe the essential elements of an attempt at mitral valve repair and describe the challenges and potential rewards that exist.