Contents:

1. Assessment of patients with valvular heart disease
   1. History and physical examination
   2. Echocardiogram
   3. Cardiac catheterization data
      
      
2. Choice of treatment
   1. Prosthetic valves
   2. Stented xenografts
   3. Non-stented human and xenograft valves
   4. Autograft valves for aortic valve replacement
   5. Valve repair
      
      
3. Long term complications of replacement devices
   1. Thrombosis
   2. Embolus
   3. Prosthetic dysfunction
      
      
4. Mitral valve
   1. Normal anatomy
   2. Normal function
   3. Mitral stenosis
      1. etiology and pathologic anatomy
      2. natural history and complications
      3. physiology
      4. non-operative treatment
      5. indications for intervention (risk stratification)
      6. merits of balloon valve dilation vs. operative repair or replacement
      7. techniques of valve repair and replacement
      8. intraoperative and postoperative complications and management
      9. early and late results of operative and balloon valvulotomy
         
         
   4. Mitral incompetence
      1. etiology and pathologic anatomy
      2. natural history and complications
      3. physiology (mechanisms of incompetence)
      4. non-operative treatment
         • for nonischemic etiology
         • for ischemic etiology
      5. indications for surgical intervention (risk stratification)
      6. techniques of valve repair
         • ring and suture annuloplasty
         • leaflet plication, excision
         • chordal/papillary muscle shortening
         • chordal transposition and artificial chordae
      7. perioperative care
      8. early and late results of repair and replacement