Tricuspid valve repair in isolated tricuspid pathology: a 12-year single center experience

OBJECTIVES: Long-term data on isolated surgical tricuspid valve procedures is limited. Current guidelines on heart valve disease recommend valve repair over valve replacement. In this study we report our 12-year single-center experience with isolated surgical tricuspid valve repair in patients with various tricuspid valve pathologies. METHODS: Between May 2007 and December 2019, 26 consecutive patients underwent isolated tricuspid valve annuloplasty/repair for various indications. In 18 patients (69.2%) an open ring or band annuloplasty (26.9 and 42.3%, respectively) was performed, 5 patients (19.2%) underwent a tightening of the annulus using the DeVega technique, 5 patients (19.2%) had a leaflet reconstruction with patch or bicuspidalization and in 3 patients (11.5%) a leaflet debridement was performed. In 15.4% of the cohort a combination of the techniques was utilized. RESULTS: The mean follow-up time was 2.1 (0.3–5.0) years. Early survival at 30 days after surgery was 84.6%. Mean hospital stay was 11 (6.7–16) days. One-year survival was 73%. No patient required a redo procedure on the tricuspid valve during follow-up. CONCLUSION: Tricuspid valve repair is suggested as a treatment of choice according to recent guidelines on heart valve disease. If chosen correctly, various repair techniques provide good long-term results. Tricuspid valve repair may be safely applied in patients undergoing surgical isolated tricuspid valve procedures.