Operative management of tricuspid regurgitation.

Overview

From January 1968 to June 1975 tricuspid regurgitation was encountered in 238 patients of a total of 1074 patients undergoing operations on the mitral valve. During this time tricuspid annuloplasty (TA) was performed in 137 patients and the tricuspid valve was replaced (TVR) in 101 patients. Comparison of hospital mortality of 15% (20 of 137) for TA as against 40% (40 or 101) for TVR suggests the superiority of repair over replacement. A new technique for repair makes this operation even more attractive. It satisfies the dual objectives of producing competency but not obstruction by creating a measured orifice. As experience with TA was gained, the incidence of valve replacement dropped from 69% (22 of 32) in the first 2 years of the study to 16% (11 of 70) for the last 2 years.