Heart valve repair apparatus and methods

Claim 1

An annuloplasty device for surgical repair of a mitral valve, the mitral valve having a valve annulus, the valve annulus having an annulus anterior portion and an annulus posterior portion, the annulus anterior portion spanning between left and right anterior ends, the annulus posterior portion spaced apart from the annulus anterior portion in an anterior-posterior direction to define a mitral valve opening therebetween, the annulus posterior portion having a generally arcuate shape between the left and right anterior ends, the mitral valve having an anterior valve leaflet attached to the annulus anterior portion and a posterior valve leaflet attached to the annulus posterior portion, the anterior and posterior leaflets having respective anterior and posterior free margins, the anterior and posterior leaflets movable between a closed systolic configuration in which the free margins are in an approximated spatial relationship, and an open diastolic configuration in which the free margins are spaced apart to allow blood flow through the mitral valve opening generally along a valve-flow axis, said annuloplasty device comprising: an anterior section, said anterior section configured with first and second anterior ends, said anterior section adapted for attachment to the annulus anterior portion, said first and second ends being adapted for placement respectively proximate to the left and right anterior ends of the annulus anterior portion, and a posterior section coupled to said anterior section, said posterior section adapted for attachment to the annulus posterior portion and spaced apart from said anterior section to define an annuloplasty device space therebetween, said posterior and anterior sections divided along a first axis, said annuloplasty device having a maximum width dimension along said first axis, said posterior section having a generally curvilinear shape, said generally curvilinear shape being permanently formed to be non-planar when viewed in a direction generally parallel to said first axis, wherein said non-planar generally curvilinear shape is retained after fixation of the annuloplasty device to the valve annulus to improve coaptation of the leaflet free margins in the systolic configuration by fixing the annulus posterior portion into a non-planar configuration.