Response by Gammie et al to Letter Regarding Article, "Transapical Beating-Heart Mitral Valve Repair With an Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene Cordal Implantation Device: Initial Clinical Experience".

We thank Colli and Gerosa for their important work in the field of minimally invasive, beating heart mitral valve repair using expanded polytetrafluoroethylene artificial cords and their comments on our article.1 The article acknowledged that Colli’s group previously reported intermediate-term results from their experience with the NeoChord device and referenced their work,2 but it is worth noting that they have the largest experience in the world with off-pump, mitral valve repair using expanded polytetrafluoroethylene artificial cords. The strong safety profile and effective …