A method and apparatus for repairing the heart's
mitral valve by using anatomic restoration without the need to stop the heart, use a heart-
lung machine or making incisions on the heart. The method involves inserting a leaflet clamp through the heart's
papillary muscle from which the leaflet has been disconnected, clamping the leaflet's free end and then
puncturing the leaflet. One end of a suture is then passed through the hollow portion of the clamp, while the other end of the suture is maintained external to the heart. The clamp is then removed and the suture's two ends are fastened together with a securement ring / locking cap
assembly to the
heart wall exterior, thereby reconnecting the leaflet to the corresponding
papillary muscle. The introduction of the clamp,
puncturing of the leaflet, passage of the suture therethrough and removal of the clamp can be conducted a plurality of times before each suture's two ends are fastened to the securement ring / locking cap
assembly.