[Indication and timing of mitral valvular surgery].

Patients with mitral regurgitation are increasing while those with mitral stenosis are decreasing. In addition, percutaneous transluminal mitral commissurotomy (PTMC) technique has dramatically reduced surgical indication of mitral stenosis. At the present time, the most important topic would be the surgical indication of asymptomatic patients with severe mitral regurgitation and preserved left ventricular function. In this context, feasibility of mitral valve repair, in other words, the skill and experience of the surgeon becomes very important. In this paper, we described issues about the timing and indication of mitral valvular surgery based on "American College Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) 2006 practice guidelines for the management of patients with valvular heart disease".