Study with reflected ultrasound of patients with mitral valve repair.

As part of a follow-up investigation in mitral annuloplasty by reflected ultrasound, 39 studies have been carried out in I5 patients who underwent mitral valve reconstructive operations. The rate of diastolic toward closure movemeiit from point E (EF speed) and total amplitude did not correlate with the final valve orifice dimension obtained at operation. Mitral stenosis and incompetence were shown within the first 6 months after repair. Such a noninvasive technique is therefore regarded as an additional method of study of the structural andfunctional state of the mitral valve after annuloplasty and the subsequent changes in time. The contribution of mitral ring movement to the familiar mitral echogram pattern is discussed passim.