Fifty cases with chronic rheumatic valvular disease were examined with two dimensional echocardiography to evaluate the valvular pathology preoperatively. The echocardiographic findings were correlated and compared with the operative findings.It was found that 89% of the thickening pattern cases and 75% of the funnel-shaped cases showed thickening of the leaf-lets- All the 28 membranous cases showed diastolic doming and restricted tip motion of the anterior leaflet in different degrees. In the 4 funnel-shaped cases, 3 showed restricted tip and body motion of the leaflets and the 4th case showed stiffness of the leaflet base. 63% of the mitral regurgitation cases were confirmed at operation.It is concluded that preoperative evaluation of the valvular pathology with two dimensional echocardiography is helpful in selection of suitable operative candidates.

Forty-eight cases of atrial septum secundum defect were repaired and followed up with M-mode echocardiography postoperatively for three months to three yaers respectively.All the cases showed a significant reduction of the inner diameter of the right ventricle after operation,and in 23% of the cases, the inner diameter even returned to the normal range. In 92% of the acses, the intervetricular septal paradoxical motion resumed the normal pattern. In most cases, the inner diameter of the left ventricle increased markedly.In 11 cases with repeated follow-up studies, it was found that three months after operation, the interventricular septal paradoxical motion became normal in 7 cases and the motion flattened in three cases. In 18 cases with a 3-year follow-up history, it was found that the recovery of the heart condition showed no relation to the age of the patient. This is likely to suggest that the age factor exerts no influence on the postoperative recovery of the cases having the atrial septal defect repaired.