Mitral Valve Intervention - What's the Difference?

Up until 1995, 1996 most people were simply having a valve replacement. We've then over the last 20 years developed very sophisticated mitral valve repair techniques. These essentially involve replacing the cords that get broken with organic pathology or putting in what are called rings that allow the mitral valve to work well. The default option remains surgery either conventional or minimal. But for patients who are not deemed to be fit for surgery, we will offer the mitral clip if they have certain characteristics of the valve that lend itself to that.