Patent ID: 8778016

Claim:
A method of performing mitral valve chordal repair on a patient while the patient's heart is beating, the method comprising: making an incision in a ventricular wall of the patient; inserting a catheter through the incision into a left ventricle of the patient; navigating a distal end of the catheter to a mitral valve leaflet of the patient, the catheter containing at least one filament, the filament having a first end and a second end; passing the first end of the filament through an eyelet of a first attachment point at the mitral valve leaflet, the eyelet being sized to allow the filament to move relative to the eyelet; navigating the distal end of the catheter to a position at or near a papillary muscle, the position being at or near a second attachment point on the papillary muscle; passing the first end of the filament through the second attachment point; adjusting the length of the filament by adjusting tension of the filament in the catheter; passing the first end of the filament through a securing device; securing the first end of the filament to another portion of the filament within the left ventricle using the securing device to form a filament loop entirely within the left ventricle; removing excess material from the filament loop; and withdrawing the catheter from the left ventricle.