Outcome following isolated tricuspid valve replacement

Objectives: The clinical outcome of isolated tricuspid valve replacement is not well defined because this procedure is usually performed concomitantly with other valve surgery, Methods: We retrospectively studied the short an d long-term outcome of 15 consecutive patients (six men and nine women, age d 61 +/- 3 years) undergoing isolated tricuspid valve replacement from 1984 to 1996. The cause of valve dysfunction was rheumatic heart disease in 12 patients, healed endocarditis in two patients, and sarcoidosis in one patie nt. The tricuspid valve was stenotic in one patient, regurgitant in eight p atients, and both stenotic and regurgitant in six patients. A St. Jude Medi cal prosthesis was placed in eight patients, Carpentier-Edwards in five pat ients, and Bjork-Shiley and Starr-Edwards in one patient each. Results: The median survival was only 1.2 years. Three patients (20%) died less than or equal to 30 days after the surgery or before discharge, and six other pati ents (40%) died within 3 years of surgery. Anasarca was the only predictor of short-term mortality (P = 0.03), while the predictors of long-term morta lity were anemia (P = 0.01), rheumatic heart disease (P = 0.03), previous s troke (P = 0.01), and previous mitral valve surgery (P = 0.03). Conclusions : Isolated tricuspid valve replacement is characterized by a poor short and long-term outcome. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.