Repair of Congenitally Absent Chordae in a Tricuspid Valve Leaflet with Hypoplastic Papillary Muscle Using Artificial Chordae

Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Tricuspid Valve Development and Disease

Tricuspid valve (TV) disease is highly prevalent in the general population. For ages considered "the forgotten valve" because of the predominant interest in left-side valve disease, the TV has now received significant attention in recent years, with significant improvement both in diagnosis and in management of tricuspid disease. TV is characterized by complex anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology, in which the right ventricle plays a fundamental role. Comprehensive knowledge of molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying TV development, TV disease, and tricuspid regurgitation-related right-ventricle cardiomyopathy is necessary to enhance TV disease understanding to improve the ability to risk stratify TR patients, while also predicting valve dysfunction and/or response to tricuspid regurgitation treatment. Scientific efforts are still needed to eventually decipher the complete picture describing the etiopathogenesis of TV and TV-associated cardiomyopathy, and future advances to this aim may be achieved by combining emerging diagnostic imaging modalities with molecular and cellular studies. Overall, basic science studies could help to streamline a new coherent hypothesis underlying both the development of TV during embryogenesis and TV-associated disease and its complications in adult life, providing the conceptual basis for the ultimate and innovative field of valve repair and regeneration using tissue-engineered heart valves.

Outcomes of Tricuspid Valve Repair with Artificial Neochordae in Pediatric and Adult Patients

BACKGROUND

There is little data on outcomes following expanded polytetrafluoroethylene artificial neochordae (ePTFE-AN) for tricuspid valve (TV) repair. We evaluated outcomes after TV repair with ePTFE-AN in both pediatric and adult patients.

METHODS

We analyzed clinical data of 87 consecutive patients who underwent ePTFE-AN implantation at the time of TV repair from 1998 to 2020. Patients were categorized into pediatric and adult groups.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine (33.3%) were pediatric and 58 (66.7%) were adult patients. The most common etiology of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) was congenital (pediatrics: 86.2%, 25 of 29; adults: 39.7%, 23 of 59). Median number of pairs of ePTFE-AN implanted was 2 (interquartile range [IQR], 2-5) for pediatric and 3 (IQR, 2-4) for adult patients. There was no early death. Three adult patients (5.2%) required early TV reoperation; four (1 pediatric, 3 adults) underwent late TV reintervention. Etiology of TR was congenital in four of the six adults who required TV reintervention. Three-year cumulative risk of TV reintervention was 0.0% for pediatric and 7.3% (95% CI, 0.4-14.2%) for adult patients. There was significant improvement in TR grade after TV repair at dismissal and the latest echocardiographic follow-up in each group (P<.001). One pediatric and seven adult patients developed severe TR during follow-up, six of them underwent TV reoperation (1 pediatric, 5 adults).

CONCLUSIONS

ePTFE-AN implantation in the TV position can be performed safely and effectively with no early death. In adult patients with congenital TR, patient selection is critical to achieve durable outcome following TV repair.

Three-Dimensional Echocardiography Reveals Extensive Congenital Anterior Tricuspid Valve Prolapse

•

Congenital leaflet prolapse and absent chordae of tricuspid valve (TV) is rare.

•

Congenital TV abnormalities were difficult to evaluate with echocardiography.

•

Three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography revealed this TV abnormality.

Congenital absence of anterior papillary muscle of the tricuspid valve and surgical repair with artificial chordae

We report the case of a 26-year old woman who underwent successful tricuspid valve repair for the absence of the anterior papillary of the tricuspid valve. Preoperative echocardiography revealed grade IV tricuspid valve regurgitation, caused by congenital absence of the anterior papillary muscle and prolapse of the anterior leaflet. Tricuspid valve repair was performed using artificial chords consisting of two polytetrafluoroethylene sutures and a concomitant ring annuloplasty. Postoperative echocardiography revealed mild tricuspid valve regurgitation. This approach represented a safe and effective technique for tricuspid valve repair in congenital absence of papillary muscle.

Tricuspid Valve Repair With Artificial Chorda After Previous Ventricular Septal Defect Repair

We evaluated a 49-year-old man with severe tricuspid valve regurgitation and coronary artery disease who had undergone congenital ventricular septal defect repair four decades previously. We found an enlarged, prolapsed commissure between the anterior and septal leaflets and a ruptured septal leaflet chorda. Two mattress sutures closed the commissure, with the leaflets' height matched by inverting the prolapsed site ventricularly. After implanting the annuloplasty band, we undertook chordal replacement using expanded polytetrafluoroethylene sutures. Artificial chorda length was determined using a small tourniquet and the saline test. Two coronary artery bypass grafts were also implanted. Postoperative echocardiography demonstrated no tricuspid regurgitation.

Surgical management of congenital (non-Ebstein) tricuspid valve regurgitation

Congenital tricuspid valve regurgitation (TR) is a relatively uncommon condition that includes a heterogeneous group of lesions with a unique management strategy. There are wide anatomic variations that lead to congenital TR in patients without Ebstein malformation. Possible etiologies may include primary valve abnormalities (eg, congenital absence of chordae) or other forms of tricuspid valve dysplasia as in congenitally unguarded tricuspid valve, and patients with pulmonary atresia and intact ventricular septum, which can be similar to Ebstein's valves or secondary regurgitation in association with other anomalies as in atrioventricular septal defects, right ventricular outflow tract obstructive lesions (pulmonary stenosis or atresia with ventricular septal defect [VSD]), tricuspid valve annular dilatation in association with right ventricular volume overload lesions as in congenital coronary arterial fistula with secondary right ventricular enlargement, and Uhl's anomaly. Iatrogenic etiologies in the congenital population include TR secondary to previous VSD closure (chordal or leaflet injury), pacemaker or internal cardiac defibrillator lead-induced TR, and traumatic TR (ruptured chordae). Presentation depends on the severity of the disease and may be apparent in infancy, childhood, or adulthood.