Mitral regurgitation caused by an isolated mitral leaflet cleft

An isolated cleft of the mitral valve leaflet is rare cause of mitral regurgitation in adults. We report a successful minimally invasive mitral valve repair for severe mitral regurgitation caused by an isolated cleft of the anterior mitral leaflet. During the operation, we found a large cleft measuring 5 x 8 mm in the center of the anterior mitral leaflet. We closed the cleft directly and performed annuloplasty with a 30-mm Carpenter-Edwards Physio Ring (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA). The mitral valve is very well visualized with the video-assisted minimally invasive approach through the right chest.