Objective To investigate the effects of different types of tricuspid regurgitation, implantation positions, and device models on the treatment outcomes of K-Clip for tricuspid regurgitation using numerical simulations. Methods Three-dimensional reconstruction of the heart model was performed based on CT images. Two different regurgitation orifices were obtained by modifying the standard parameterized tricuspid valve leaflets and chordae tendineae. The effects of different K-Clip models at different implantation positions (posterior leaflet midpoint, anterior-posterior commissure, anterior leaflet midpoint, posterior septal commissure) were simulated using commercial explicit dynamics software Ls-Dyna. Conclusion For the two types of regurgitation in this study, clipping at the posterior leaflet midpoint resulted in a better reduction of the regurgitation orifice (up to 75% reduction in area). Higher clamping forces were required for implantation at the anterior leaflet midpoint and posterior septal commissure, which was unfavorable for the smooth closure of the clipping components. There was no statistical difference in the treatment outcomes between the 18T and 16T K-Clip components, and the 16T component required less clamping force. Therefore, the use of the 16T K-Clip component is recommended.
Abstract： Objective To evaluate the surgical effect of ring annuloplasty using prosthetic vascular graft for the treatment of tricuspid regurgitation. Methods From July 2000 to July 2010, ring annuloplasty using prosthetic vascular graft was performed to a total of 56 patients with tricuspid regurgitation in Changhai Hospital of Second Military Medical University. There were 24 male patients and 32 female patients. Their mean age was（45.7±21.8）years (ranging from 14 to 73 years). All the patients were diagnosed as moderate to severe tricuspid regurgitation by color Doppler echocardiography examination, including 47 patients with rheumatic heart valve diseases, and 9 patients with congenital heart disease (Ebstein’s anomaly). All the 56 patients underwent ring annuloplasty using prosthetic vascular graft instead of Carpentier annuloplasty ring for the treatment of tricuspid regurgitation. Results There was no in-hospital death. Postoperatively, one patient had acute respiratory failure, one patient had acute kidney failure, and one patient had re-exploration for bleeding. All patients had none or mild tricuspid regurgitation by echocardiography examination one month after surgery. Forty eight patients were followed up from 1.0 to 9.5 years with a median follow-up time of 3.8 years. During follow-up, there was no late death, but one patient had brain embolism as an anticoagulation complication. Sixteen patients were in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classⅠ, 26 patients in NYHA classⅡ, and 6 patients in NYHA class Ⅲ. Thirty six patients had no tricuspid regurgitation, 10 patients had mild tricuspid regurgitation, and 2 patients had moderate tricuspid regurgitation by echocardiography examination during follow-up. Conclusion The early and mid-term follow-up results of ring annuloplasty using prosthetic vascular graft instead of Carpentier annuloplasty ring for the treatment of tricuspid regurgitation are satisfactory. It is a good choice for the surgical treatment of tricuspid regurgitation.
ObjectiveTo explore the feasibility of goat tricuspid regurgitation (TR) model by one chordae tendineae cutter via right anterior-lateral minimal incision.MethodsTR model was established in 6 goats with a self-made tricuspid valve chordae tendineae cutter. The goats were placed in a left lateral position and procedure was performed via a right anterior-lateral minimal thoracotomy in the fourth intercostal. Under the guidance of transesophageal ultrasound and digital subtraction angiography, the chordae tendineae of anterior leaflet was cut until moderate to severe regurgitation was confirmed. Echocardiography and laboratory examinations were performed preoperatively, immediately and 3 months after surgery. Additionally, all goats were sacrificed to clarify pathological evaluation.ResultsTR was successfully established in 6 goats. The right atrium pressure increased significantly immediately after surgery (P<0.05). During a follow-up of 3 months, the progression of TR was aggravated (P<0.05), and the annular diameter increased from 2.15±0.23 cm to 2.65±0.20 cm. Overall, there was no statistically significant change in transvalvular gradient and velocity between preoperation and postoperation. Laboratory test results showed no abnormalities between preoperation and postoperation. Autopsy evaluation demonstrated obvioue chordae tendineae transection of the anterior leaflet.ConclusionIt is feasible to establish TR model via a right minimal anterior lateral thoracotomy in the fourth intercostal space. This novel TR goats model will allow investigation of transcatheter interventional device and serve as a chronic model in the future.
ObjectiveTo explore the clinical effect of LuX-Valve implantation in patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and review articles about similar devices.MethodsWe reported the data of a 58-year-old male patient with severe TR, who was hospitalized on March 17th, 2020 because of “abdominal distention and edema for 5 years”, and then received LuX-Valve implantation in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University. Articles about transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement were reviewed in PubMed according to the key words including “transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement” “TTVR” and “transcatheter tricuspid valve intervention”.ResultsThe patient with severe TR received LuX-Valve implantation under general anesthesia and the guidance of digital subtraction angiography and transesophageal echocardiography. The patient’s TR was totally corrected after implantation and postoperative one-month follow-up showed well clinical effects. The result of literature review showed that there were two similar devices and both had been implanted in TR patients.ConclusionLuX-Valve is an effective and reliable transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement device.
Objective To develop a novel transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement device and test its performance. MethodsThe transcatheter tricuspid valve stent consisted of double-layer self-expanding nitinol stent, biotissue-derived bovine pericardial leaflets, and PTFE woven. The delivery system, mainly consisting of a handle control unit and a delivery sheath, was sent to the correct position via right atrium or jugular vein. The sheath had a visualization feature, and the handle control unit could realize the functions of stable release and partial recovery of the interventional valve. In addition, this study performed animal survival experiments on the basis of in vitro experiments. A large-white pig was used as the experimental animal. Cardiopulmonary bypass was established through median thoracotomy, then the right atrium was opened, and the interventional valve was released under direct vision without cardiac arrest. Approximately 1 month after interventional valve implantation, the maneuverability and stability of the interventional tricuspid device were evaluated by autopsy. ResultsThrough the animal experiment, the interventional valve was successfully released, and the anchoring was satisfactory. Postoperative transthoracic echocardiography showed that the interventional valve opened and closed well, the flow rate of tricuspid valve was 0.6 m/s, and there was no obvious tricuspid regurgitation. One month after the operation, we dissected the large-white pig and found the interventional valve was not deformed or displaced, the leaflets were well aligned, and there was thrombus attachment in the groove between the inner and outer layers of the interventional valve. ConclusionAnimal experiment shows that the novel device can stably and firmly attach to the tricuspid annulus, with good anchoring effect, and effectively reduce paravalvular leakage.
Abstract： Objective To evaluate clinical outcomes of tricuspid annuloplasty using a C-type ring made of autologous pericardium for the treatment of functional tricuspid regurgitation （TR）. Methods Eleven patients underwent tricuspid annuloplasty in Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital between March 2009 and January 2011， including 5 male patients and 6 female patients with their age of 32-57 （43.80±12.20） years. There were 3 patients with mild TR， 7 patients with moderate TR， and 1 patient with severe TR. Concomitant procedures included mitral valve replacement and/or aortic valve replacement and/or left atrial thrombectomy. The C-type ring was created using a strip of pericardium after 0.8% glutaraldehyde fixation for 15 minutes. Interrupted horizontal mattress suture was used to secure the C-type ring to the tricuspid annulus. Hear function and echocardiography were examined during follow-up. Results There was no in-hospital death， and the hospital stay was 15-28 （21.10±3.80） days. All the patients were followed up for 8-28 （18.50±7.00）months. There was no death or reoperation because of TR or tricuspid stenosis during follow-up. Ten patients had TR during follow-up， including 9 patients with mild TR and 1 patient with mild to moderate TR， but there was no patient with severe TR. The degree of TR during follow-up was significantly reduced than preoperative degree （Z =-2.81，P＜0.05）. Preoperative and postoperative right ventricular dimension （19.95±5.11 mm vs. 21.57±12.81 mm，P=0.705） and right atrial dimension（37.55±6.79 mm vs. 35.55±5.22 mm，P=0.317）were not statistically different. Conclusion Tricuspid annuloplasty using a C-type ring made of autologous pericardium has satisfactory clinical outcomes for patients with functional TR.
We reported a 54-year-old female patient with severe tricuspid regurgitation, who received mechanic valve in the mitral position 15 years ago. The patient’s Society of Thoracic Surgeons score was 8.27%, and was intolerant to open heart surgery, so she was recommended for transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement via right vena jugularis interna. The procedures were guided by echocardiography and X ray fluoroscopy on November 13, 2021, the prosthesis was implanted successfully, and the patient was recoved without any adverse events. After 1 month follow-up, her general condition was apparently improved.
Objective To examine the regression, residue, or progression of tricuspid regurgitation （TR） after mitral valve replacement so as to improve the clinical evaluation and management of TR. Methods From January 1998 to December 2003, a total of 287 consecutive patients of mitral valve replacement were followed and reviewed for this study. There were 86 male patients and 201 female patients whose ages ranged from 15 to 66 years （41.0±11.0 years）. The predominant mitral vane lesion was stenosis in 199 patients （69%）, regurgitation in 66 patients （23%） and mixed in 22 patients （8%）. A total of 201 patients （70%） had atrial fibrillation and 86 patients （30%） were in sinus rhythm. According to ratio of maximal regurgitation area to right atrial area TR was graded as mild （＋）, mild-moderate （＋/＋＋） moderate （＋＋） moderate-severe （＋＋/＋＋＋） and severe （＋＋＋）. There were 101 mild TR （36.7%）, 5 mild-moderate（1.8%）, 27 moderate （9.8%）, 2 moderate-severe （0.7%） and 21 severe （7.6%）. Depending on the surgical findings tricuspid annuloplasty was performed. The patients were followed in outpatient clinical and had echocardiography evaluation regularly. Results The follow-up ranged from 2 to 7 years （4.0±1.6 years）. Twelve patients were lost during the follow-up periods. Compared with preoperation, clinical condition of the majority of patients was improved after surgery. The diameter of left atrium, right atrium, left ventricle and right ventricle decreased significantly after operation （P〈0.01）. The ejection fraction and fraction of shorting increased significantly after surgery （P〈0.05）. However there were no significantly changes between pre- TR and post- TR in these patients （P〉0.05）. Tricuspid annuloplasty was not performed for 129 patients who had TR because TR was judged intraoperatively not to be severe. Of those patients, TR regressed in 54 patients, improved in 12 patients, did not change in 46 patients and progressed in 17 patients respectively after surgery. There were 27 patients who received De Vega tricuspid annuloplasty. Among them, TR regressed in 10 patients, improved in 12 patients and did not change in 5 patients respectively after surgery. Conclusion It is not adequate to evaluate the degree of TR in mitral valve diseases with rate of maximal regurgitation area to right atrial area. It should be improved to adopt intraoperative findings for tricuspid annuloplasty. TR may occur in patients who do not have TR before operation.
Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) affects a wide population in China, and frequently coexists with other conditions as comorbidities. Moderate to severe TR is associated with a poor prognosis and medical treatment alone does not prevent progression of disease. Although minimal invasive catheter-based techniques might be an option for TR treatment in selected high risk patients, there is no relevant recommendations for the transcatheter treatment of TR in practice guidelines. Several transcatheter edge-to-edge repair devices are currently in preclinical and early clinical evaluation as potential novel treatment options for symptomatic TR in patients at increased risk for surgery, becoming as the most common technique applied for interventional TR treatment. Hence, the present study will introduce the clinical features of TR, the progress of edge-to-edge repair, and the application and challenges in the future.
ObjectiveTo investigate the therapeutic effect of modified tricuspid valvuloplasty using anterior leaflet in patients with partial antrioventricular septal defect and tricuspid septal leaflet dysplasia. MethodsNinety-five patients with partial antrioventricular septal defect and tricuspid septal leaflet dysplasia underwent surgical treatment in our hospital from June 2002 to March 2014. There were 39 males and 56 females with an average age of 3.2±6.6 years (range 3 months to 46 years). Preoperative echocardiography prompted all patients had varying degrees of tricuspid valve dysplasia and tricuspid regurgitation (mild in 14 cases, moderate in 49 cases, and severe in 32 cases). According to the different development of anterior and septal leaflet, we used different techniques to repair the tricuspid problems. If the residual septal leaflet was larger than one third of the normal septal leaflet, we continuously stitched the half of the septal side of anterior leaflet to the two third of the left side of residual septal leaflet. If the residual septal leaflet was less than one third of the normal septal leaflet, we reserved part of pericardial patch at right side of septal crest at repairing the atrial septal defect, and continuously stitched the left two third of the patch edge to the half of septal side of anterior leaflet. All patients received transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) to evaluate the intraoperative effect of valvuloplasty. The patients were followed up with echocardiography after 3 to 6 months to evaluate the condition of tricuspid. ResultsThere was no perioperative death or Ⅲ degree atrioventricular block. Intraoperative TEE showed that the effect of tricuspid valvuloplasty was good with 3 cases of mild regurgitation and 2 cases of moderate regurgitation. Other 90 cases had no significant regurgitation. The aortic cross-clamping time was 35.2±11.2 min and cardiopulmonary bypass time was 64.9±16.6 min. In the followed-up between 3 to 6 months, tricuspid regurgitation situation improved significantly than that in preoperative period with mild regurgitation or no reflux in 89 cases and moderate regurgitation in 6 cases. There was no severe regurgitation occurred. ConclusionThe therapeutic effect is satisfactory by using anterior leaflet to repair the regurgitation of tricuspid in patients with partial antrioventricular septal defect and tricuspid septal leaflet dysplasia.