Application effect of thoracoscopic tricuspid valvuloplasty in geriatric patients with tricuspid valve disease

BACKGROUND Thoracoscopic-assisted technology can ensure that doctors can implement minimally invasive treatment through the right intercostal incision or small incision of the lower sternum.This approach not only can achieve a cardiac correction effect equivalent to that of a thoracotomy but also has the benefit of a clear surgical field ensuring the safety of surgical treatment.AIM To investigate the effect of thoracoscopic tricuspid valvuloplasty in patients with tricuspid valve disease.METHODS A total of 41 patients with tricuspid valve disease underwent traditional thoracotomy treatment between January 2018 and June 2020.Forty-one patients with tricuspid valve disease who underwent thoracoscopic tricuspid valvuloplasty treatment between July 2020 and June 2021 in our hospital were selected as controls for our retrospective analysis.The study group underwent thoracoscopic tricuspid valvuloplasty,while traditional thoracotomy was performed in the control group.The operation conditions(the duration of extracorporeal circulation,aorta blocking,endotracheal intubation,and surgery),inflammatory response-related indices(C-reactive protein and white blood cell count)before and after surgery,parameters related to myocardial injury(myocardial troponin T,creatine kinase isoenzyme,creatine kinase,and lactate dehydrogenase),and the incidence of adverse events in the two groups was counted.RESULTS The duration of extracorporeal circulation(109.35±50.31 min),aortic occlusion(94.26±59.61 min),endotracheal intubation(12.59±3.54 h),and hospital stay(5.29±2.34 d)in the study group were shorter than those in the control group(114.91±46.98 min,101.37±61.44 min,13.11±4.01 h,7.09±3.11 d,respectively).The difference in hospital stay between the two groups was statistically significant(P<0.05).Serum C-reactive protein level(4.69±1.35 mg/L)and white blood cell count(6.21±1.97×10^(9)/L)in the study group were found to be not significantly different than those in the control group(5.01±1.18 mg/L,5.98±2.01×10^(9)/L,respectively;P>0.05).Myocardial troponin T(0.04±0.02 ng/mL),creatine kinase isoenzyme(4.02±1.11 mg/mL),creatine kinase(91.35±10.44 U/L),and lactate dehydrogenase(179.81±60.04 U/L)in the study group were also not statistically significant different than those in the control group(0.05±0.03 ng/mL,3.97±1.05 mg/mL,89.69±13.05 U/L,186.35±56.96 U/L;P>0.05).After the operation,serum C-reactive protein level(7.89±1.73 mg/L)and white blood cell count(10.76±2.35×10^(9)/L)in the study group were significantly lower than those in the control group(9.96±2.04 mg/L,14.84±3.07×10^(9)/L,respectively)(P<0.05).In addition,myocardial troponin T(0.89±0.32 ng/mL),creatine kinase isoenzyme(26.96±4.95 mg/mL),creatine kinase(608.32±202.33 U/L),and lactate dehydrogenase(282.56±101.34 U/L)in the study group were lower than those in the control group(2.61±0.69 ng/mL,34.37±6.87 mg/mL,689.94±214.64 U/L,369.15±114.46 U/L)(P<0.05).The incidence of adverse events in the study group(4.88%)was lower than that in the control group(19.51%)(P<0.05).CONCLUSION Thoracoscopic tricuspid valvuloplasty can achieve good results in treating patients with tricuspid valve disease,reduce the risk of adverse events,and promote the rapid recovery of patients.

Clinical efficacy of two different tricuspid annuloplasty techniques in left cardiac valve surgery

Objective: To investigate the mid-and long-term clinical effects of tricuspid valvuloplasty with the implantation of an artificial plastic ring.Methods: Data of 677 patients who had functional tricuspid regurgitation and left cardiac valve disease and underwent tricuspid valvuloplasty and left cardiac valve surgery were retrospectively.Among these patients, 353 underwent simple suture annuloplasty(group A) while the rest 324 patients underwent artificial plastic ring annuloplasty(group B).The two-year and more-than-two-year clinical and ultrasonocardiograph(UCG) follow-up data of the two groups were obtained and compared.Results: A total of 600 patients(88.6%) completed the long-term follow-up(more than two years).The two-year follow-up showed no significant difference in the incidence of mild tricuspid regurgitation between the two groups(82.2% vs.92.7%, P=0.37).However, there were significantly more cases that developed into moderate to severe tricuspid regurgitation in group A than in group B(17.8% vs.7.3%, P=0.031).The long-term follow-up revealed that the recurrence rate of tricuspid regurgitation in group B was significantly lower than that in group A(11.0% vs.25.0%, P=0.029), and the ratio of cases developing into moderate to severe tricuspid regurgitation in group A was significantly higher than that in group B(28.9% vs.9.9%, P=0.007).The comparison between the two intra-group time segments showed that the development of tricuspid regurgitation in group A was significantly increased(28.9% vs.17.8%, P=0.022), but in group B it was relatively stable(9.9% vs.7.3%, P=0.52).Conclusions: Artificial ring annuloplasty is associated with significantly less tricuspid regurgitation than simple suture annuloplasty.

Managements of Ebstein's anomaly with Hetzer technique

Background Ebstein’s anomaly is a rare and complex congenital malformation of the tricuspid valve and the right ventricle with variable pathological anatomy. The surgical treatment of this anomaly has long been controversial. We reviewed cases corrected with Hetzer technique to analyze the uni/biventricular strategy,timing of surgery and results. Methods Between October 2009 and December 2013, 21 patients with Ebstein’s anomaly were admitted to Guangdong General Hospital and underwent surgical correction. There were 11 males and 10 females. Type A, 3 cases; Type B, 16 cases; Type C, 1 case, Type D, 1 case. The 2 patients of Type C and Type D undergoing Starnes procedure were excluded, all other 19 patients who underwent surgical repair with Hetzer technique in this time frame were included in the analysis. In this “Hetzer group”, the age at the time of the repair ranged from 13 months to 42 years（median： 8 years） and weight ranged from 11.3 to 55kg（median： 19.5 kg）. Combined anomalies include： 2 of 3 Type A combined with secondum atrial septal defect（ASD）, 14 of 16 cases of Type B combined with secondum ASD, both of 2 cases of Type C and D combined with secondum ASD. 2 of 21（9.5%） of these patients have Wolff-Parkinson-White（WPW）syndrome. Results There was no early, or late mortality. One 13-month infant boy, after valvuloplasty, ASD closure and bidirectional Glenn（BD-Glenn） procedure, presented with low cardiac output, depression of the left ventricle, severe tricuspid regurgitation（TR） with massively dilated right ventricle, the patient underwent emergent redo procedure, however, even after re-valvuloplasty, Transesophageal echocardiography（TEE）showed moderate to severe TR, we decided to reopen and enlarge the ASD, sewed a 5 mm fenestrated pericardial patch to close the tricuspid orifice partially, after 7 days, the patient weaned successfully from the ventilator. Another two 1-year old infants after valvuloplasty, BD Glenn and partial ASD closure showed no improvement of TR, but postoperative oxygen saturation increased, symptoms diminished and exercise tolerance improved significantly. Other 16 patients, whose age ranged from 5-42 years, had satisfactory results.Echocardiography showed： 14 of the 16 patients’ TR improved from severe to mild, 2 of them improved from moderate to trace or mild. Except the redo case, the pulse oxygen saturation at rest goes up to over 95%without cyanosis; 15 of 18 patients shows 85%-90% O2 saturation after exercise in room air. Conclusions Hetzer technique is a duplicable surgical approach to Ebstein’s anomaly with satisfactory results for older patients, especially for adults. However, we notice a trend that this technique may be not suitable for small infants, and further evaluation will be needed.