Pre-operative systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve in a patient undergoing mitral valve repair

A patient with myxomatous mitral valve prolapse underwent mitral mitral valve repair due to severe symptomatic mitral regurgitation. Preoperative echocardiography demonstrated systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve. This finding disappeared once spontaneous chordal rupture occurred, resulting in a flail posterior mitral leaflet. As the patient was considered at high risk of developing post-repair SAM, he was operated on using surgical techniques aimed at lowering the risk of this complication. Despite this, post-repair SAM did develop and could only be eliminated by a surgical edge-to-edge (Alfieri) repair.