Longitudinal change in postoperative right ventricular systolic function in patients undergoing surgery for isolated tricuspid regurgitation

Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction is an indication for tricuspid valve (TV) surgery in patients with severe isolated tricuspid regurgitation (TR). Postoperative RV dysfunction is associated with poor outcome; however, the longitudinal changes in RV function before and after surgery have not been established. We retrospectively analyzed 24 patients who underwent TV surgery for isolated severe TR. For assessing RV systolic function, we measured the RV fractional area change (RVFAC) at baseline, and 1 (immediate) and 4-20 (late) months after surgery. We divided patients into 2 groups according to the RVFAC late after surgery (<35%, post-op. reduced; and >= 35%, post-op. preserved). The mean RVFAC was significantly decreased immediately after surgery compared to baseline (41.5 +/- 10.1% vs. 32.2 +/- 9.6%; p < 0.001). The RVFAC reduction was still observed late after surgery (35.5 +/- 7.4%; p = 0.002). Of 24 patients, 12 patients (50%) had preserved RV systolic function late after surgery. Although there was no significant difference in the preoperative RVFAC between the 2 groups, the preoperative RV end-systolic area (RVESA) /body surface area (BSA) was significantly less in the post-op. preserved RV systolic function group (13.8 +/- 4.3 cm(2)/m(2) vs. 8.6 +/- 2.6 cm(2)/m(2); p = 0.001). The optimal cut-off value for the preoperative RVESA/BSA in detecting postoperative preserved RV systolic function was 10.8 cm(2)/m(2) (AUC, 0.85; sensitivity, 91.7%; and specificity, 75.0%). In patients undergoing surgery for isolated severe TR, the RVFAC was significantly decreased immediately after surgery and the reduction continued late after surgery. The preoperative RVESA/BSA might be helpful to predict preserved RV function after surgery.