Data collection
Follow-up data were collected at our centre’s outpatient clinic. The follow-up rate was 92% for the MBP group and 95% for the MMP group. Doctors and nurses in our research team did their best to reduce the number of patients lost to follow-up by maintaining telephone contact with the participants or their relatives at regular intervals or by using the National data death registration database through the participants’ unique national ID for those who could not be contacted after multiple efforts.
For all patients, we collected basic preoperative sociodemographic and clinical data [age, body mass index, socioeconomic status, New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification, previous cardiological interventions, cardiovascular risk factors, comorbidities, European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroScore), echocardiography], and laboratory data. We also recorded the patients’ preoperative and postoperative echocardiographic data, including ejection fraction, left ventricular end diastolic diameter (mm), left ventricular end systolic diameter (mm), left atrium (mm), right atrium (mm), mitral opening (mm), and mitral valve pathologies; intra-operative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) data, as well as TTE data at one week post-operation and upon clinical follow-up[9,10];relevant medical or surgical history; operative variables [surgical approach (conventional or minimally invasive), cross clamp time, bypass time, type and size of mitral prostheses, concomitant AF ablation, and tricuspid procedures]; and postoperative variables [ventilation time, intensive care unit (ICU) stay, hospital stay, pleural effusion, pericardial tamponade, wound infection,arrhythmia (atrio-ventricular (A-V) block–AF],pneumothorax, pneumonia, stroke, acute renal failure(ARF), temporary dialysis, neurological complication, pacemaker implantation, 30-day and 10-year cardiac and non-cardiac death].