Ruptured synthetic expanded polytetrafluoroethylene chordae tendinae.

Synthetic sutures are used for mitral valve repair and as synthetic chordae tendinae to resuspend the mitral valve. The sutures soon get covered with connective tissue and work well for long periods. We report the first instance (in the literature) of rupture of a synthetic (PTFE) chordae tendinae. The synthetic suture (PTFE) was associated with calcification.