Abstract: Objective To summarize surgical experiences and explore risk factors of patients undergoing repeated heart valve surgery. Methods Clinical records of 325 consecutive patients who underwent repeated heart valve surgery from January 1998 to December 2008 in Changhai Hospital of Second Military Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. There were 149 male patients and 176 female patients with their average age of (47.1±11.8) years. Following variables were collected: preoperative morbidity, heart function, indications and surgical strategies of repeated heart valve surgery, postoperative mortality and morbidity, which were compared with those clinical data of patients who underwent their first heart valve surgery during the same period. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine risk factors of perioperative death of patients undergoing repeated heart valve surgery. Results The main reasons for repeated heart valve surgery were mitral valve restenosis after closed mitral commissurotomy and new other valvular diseases. Postoperatively, 28 patients died in the early-stage with the overall mortality of 8.6% (28/325). The main reasons of in-hospital death included low cardiac output syndrome (LCOS)and acute renal failure. Compared with patients undergoing their first heart valve surgery, patients who underwent repeated heart valve surgery were more likely to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), New York Heart Association (NYHA) classⅢ-Ⅳ, and atrial fibrillation, preoperatively. Their cardiopulmonary bypass time and aortic cross clamp time were comparatively longer. They also had more postoperative morbidities such as LCOS, acute renal failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Multivariate logistic regression showed that preoperative critical state (OR=2.82, P=0.002), cardiopulmonary bypass time longer than 120 minutes (OR=1.13, P=0.008), concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting (OR=1.64, P=0.005), postoperative LCOS(OR=4.52, P<0.001), ARDS (OR=3.11, P<0.001) and acute renal failure (OR=4.13, P<0.001)were independent risk factors of perioperative death of patients undergoing repeated heart valve surgery. Conclusion Repeated heart valve surgery is a difficult surgical procedure with comparatively higher risks. Full preoperative assessment of the valvular lesions, proper timing for surgery and perioperative management are helpful to reduce postoperative mortality and morbidity.