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This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Rainald Seitelberger Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Seitelberger, R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Seitelberger, R. Related Collections Valve disease Related Article

Ann Thorac Surg 2006;81:1550-1551
© 2006 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

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Correspondence

Reply

General Hospital Vienna-AKH, Waehringergeurtel 18-20, Vienna, A1090 Austria

(Email: seitel{at}magnet.at).

To the Editor:

I am very honored by that the fact that the publication [1] of our triangular plication technique has raised the interest of this experienced team of mitral valve surgeons. It is true that various forms of plication techniques used to reconstruct flailed parts of the anterior mitral leaflet have already been described in the literature as early as 1966 by McGoon (cited in our original publication), including the articles mentioned by GiGorgi and his co-authors. However, none of those publications describe a triangular fashion of plication, which we think is an essential part of this technique. McIntosh and colleagues describe one or more interrupted 4.0 Prolene sutures (Ethicon, Somerville, NJ) placed in a mattress fashion, but according to their drawing, this plication was performed in a quadrangular fashion and limited to the fibrotic region of the distal anterior leaflet.

Accordingly, Alvarez and colleagues describe various plication techniques including commissuroplasty and "double breasting" of the anterior and posterior leaflet. Figure 1d demonstrates "plication of flail septal margins," which can hardly be interpreted as a technique similar to triangular plication, but apparently demonstrates plication of flailed anterior leaflet tissue to the corresponding area of the mitral valve ring. It also has to be said that this particular technique is not mentioned or described in the article.

In conclusion, as already cited in our article, plication of the anterior leaflet itself is certainly not a new technique. However, we do think that the technique of triangular plication as described in our article is certainly different to previously reported plication techniques.

I thank DiGiorgi and coauthors for their comments [2] and are very pleased to hear that they also have a very favorable experience with this technique in cases of anterior leaflet prolapse.

	References

Top References

 

1. Seitelberger R, Bialy J, Gottardi R, et al. Triangular plication of the anterior mitral leafleta new operative technique. Ann Thorac Surg 2004;78:e36-e37.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
2. Di Giorgi PL, Grossi EA, Colvin SB. Anterior mitral leaflet plication (letter) Ann Thorac Surg 2006;81:1550.[Free Full Text]

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Rainald Seitelberger Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Seitelberger, R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Seitelberger, R. Related Collections Valve disease Related Article