Surgery for organic rheumatic disease of the tricuspid valve

The paucity of reports on the incidence and management of organic involvement of the tricuspid valve in rheumatic disease led us to carry out this retrospective study. Over a four and a half year period, of the 1052 patients undergoing valve surgery at our institution, 253 (24.05%) required tricuspid surgery. Organic involvement was noted in 115 (45.45%) of these patients. Definitive preoperative diagnosis was feasible by echocardiogram in only 48 (41.73%). Tricuspid regurgitation was present in all patients while detectable stenosis was present in 48 (41.7%). Annular dilatation was seen in 52 (45.2%). Primary repair was possible in 107 patients (93.0%). The reduction in tricuspid regurgitation remained stable at the last follow up in all but seven patients. Nine patients underwent reoperation in this study for failure of left-sided valve repairs, of which five needed reoperation on the tricuspid valve. All the five reoperated tricuspid valves had had dilated annuli at primary surgery. The presence or absence of annular dilatation did not cause any significant difference in early or late mortality. The presence of annular dilatation in the presence of left-sided valve lesions superimposed on organically involved tricuspid valves evokes the possibility of the presence of an organo-functional disease.