A comparison of quality of life in mitral valve replacement and mitral valve repair patients

Objectives: Mitral valve replacement and repair are the surgical treatment methods in mitral valve disease. Although both treatments have some superiorities against each other in some certain fields, their effects on the improvement of the quality of life of patients is another factor that needs to be taken into consideration. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of these treatment methods on the improvement of the quality of life. Patients and methods: Between January 2006 and June 2009, a total of 40 patients (27 females, 13 males; mean age 48.2±14.8 years; range 16 to 74 years) with similar etiologies and EuroSCORE values were included in this prospective, single-center study. All patients were divided into two groups as mitral valve replacement (group 1, n=22) and mitral valve repair (group 2, n=18). The Short Form-36 was used to assess the improvement in the quality of life. Results: Seven of eight domains including physical function, role limitation due to physical function, social function, role limitation due to emotional problems, energy, mental health, and general health perception in the Short Form-36 were significantly improved in both groups. Pain scores were significantly improved in group 2, whereas no significant improvement was seen in group 1. Conclusion: Our study results show a significant improvement in the quality of life following both treatments. However, mitral valve repair seems to be superior to mitral valve replacement in terms of pain scores.