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Surgical cardiac dilators designed for mechanically augmenting the diameter of the mitral valve during cardiac surgery. These surgical cardiac dilators typically consist of a malleable shaft and an oblique distal-end instrument with specially designed opening blades (two or three) guided into and opened in the stenosed mitral valve, exerting a disruptive force causing separation of the fused commissures of the valve leaflets. The shape of mitral valve dilators varies according to the surgical procedure to be performed as well as the size of blade opening and shafts. They are mainly used in surgical procedures performed to treat mitral valve stenosis.
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