Midterm Results of Isolated Tricuspid Valve Replacement-Implications for Clinical Decision Making

BACKGROUND Isolated tricuspid valve replacement (TVR) is considered high-risk surgery. We investigated our outcomes of TVR with the aim of identifying variables that may influence morbidity and mortality of isolated TVR compared with combined TVR and left-sided valve surgery.METHODS Retrospective analysis of patients undergoing TVR surgery. The primary endpoint was long-term mortality. The association of postoperative outcomes with isolated compared with combined replacement was analyzed. The association between type of surgery and mortality over time was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate the hazard ratio. RESULTS Overall, 70 patients underwent TVR. Mean age was 61 +/- 12 years and 74% (52 of 70) were women. About two thirds (61%) of the study population had a diagnosis of rheumatic heart disease and 8% (6 of 70) had previous infectious endocarditis. Atrial fibrillation was prevalent (86%, 60 of 70). Comorbidities were similar between groups. Tricuspid valve replacement combined with left-sided valvular surgery was performed in 37 patients (53%), and isolated replacement in 33 patients (47%). Previous cardiac surgery was common (40 patients, 57%). One-month survival rate was 94.3% (66 of 70). During a median follow-up period of 3.6 years, 12 patients (17%) died. The cumulative 5-year survival tended to be lower among patients with isolated TVR compared with patients having combined surgery.CONCLUSIONS We showed that TVR can be performed with good outcomes. Isolated TVR did not increase morbidity and mortality when patients are referred for surgery early, including after previous sternotomy. This finding should perhaps lead to a more aggressive approach toward patients requiring isolated replacement.