ANESTHESIOLOGISTS cannot concentrate solely on advances made within the specialty, but must also keep up with developments occurring within the field of surgery because the surgical management of the patients partly determines the anesthetic management. Mitral valve disease and its surgical therapy represent a very dynamic area within the field of cardiac surgery. Thanks to better understanding of the anatomy of the mitral valve apparatus, pathophysiology of underlying disease processes, and improvements in surgical technique, a shift has taken place clearly favoring mitral valve repair over mitral valve replacement for regurgitant lesions.
