Current Techniques of Tricuspid Valve Repair

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By J. Scott Rankin, MD

Presented at the 2011 Society for Heart Valve Disease Meeting. 

Cardiac surgeons largely have converted to reparative procedures for tricuspid valve disease. Recent STS database studies now show that 95% of tricuspid valve operations concomitant to mitral surgery involve repair. Most tricuspid disease etiologies such as secondary functional, primary organic, endocarditis, and congenital currently have good autologous solutions with low late failure rates. Techniques that have been successful for mitral repair, such as full ring annuloplasty, artificial chordal replacement, and autologous pericardial leaflet augmentation, have facilitated the transition to repair. This video illustrates current repair methods in 8 patients with a variety of tricuspid valve disorders.