Tricuspid valve repair for tricuspid valve endocarditis after fallot repair

Occurence of endocarditis after surgical repair of tetralogy of Fallot is rare. A case of early postoperative endocarditis in a 1-year-old infant is described. At reoperation an abscess of the the tricuspid valve annulus was discovered at the site of implantation of the ventricular septal defect patch. After debridement of the annulus, the septal and the anterior leaflet of the tricuspid valve were found dehiscent from their annular insertion. The tricuspid annulus was reconstructed with a patch of autologous pericardium, and the preserved leaflets were reimplanted. (C) 1997 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.