Mitral valve prolapse is more likely to be repaired successfully if operators perform the procedure at least 25 times a year, researchers found.

Records from a New York State mandatory-reporting cardiac surgery database showed that operators achieved a degenerative mitral valve repair rate of 67% on average. Operators with 10 or fewer cases annually had a mean as low as 48%, whereas surgeons with at least 51 such operations a year boasted a mean of 77%.