[Valve repair or valvulectomy without replacement for infective endocarditis: a report of 11 cases]

Recently advances in early diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) by echocardiography provide for IE as a target disorder for valve repair. Valvulectomy without replacement might be still better operation of choice for some cases of intractable right-sided endocarditis. For our experience in 11 cases of valve repair or valvulectomy without replacement for IE, actuarial survival and reoperation-free rate at 6.8 years of mean follow-up after surgery was 81.8% and 90.9%. Persistent infection and intraoperative evaluation of the residual regurgitation was the point for postoperative management after these procedures. Although an elaborative valve repair should be applied for right-sided endocarditis, total pulmonary valvulectomy or regional tricuspid valvulectomy without prosthesis was available for destructive endocarditis.