Application of Papillary Muscle Sling Concept in an Infant as a Biological Bridge to Transplantation

We successfully applied the papillary muscle sling concept in mitral valve reconstruction of an infant with dilated cardiomyopathy. This new method of banding the two papillary muscles together can shorten the distance of the base between the two papillary muscles, reduce the severity of mitral regurgitation, and remodel the dilated left ventricle without any mitral stenosis. The infant survived after this bridge-to-transplantation procedure and was successfully transplanted.