Successful valve-in-valve transcatheter intervention to treat severe stenosis of a 38-year-old tricuspid bioprosthesis.

A 60-year-old man presented with breathlessness. Nearly four decades previously, he had required three operations for Staphylococcus aureus infective endocarditis of the tricuspid valve and had received a bioprosthetic valve. He had critical tricuspid bioprosthesis stenosis which was treated successfully by valve-in-valve transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement using a balloon-expandable transcatheter heart valve. One year after intervention, the patient is well with no tricuspid valve stenosis or regurgitation.

A case of tricuspid valve stenosis after pacemaker implantation with infective endocarditis.

A 68-year-old male patient was admitted for extremities edema and diagnosed with infective endocarditis (IEIE). The patient underwent mitral and aortic valve mechanical valve replacement due to rheumatic heart valve disease 26 years ago. He underwent mechanical aortic valve and bioprosthetic tricuspid valve replacement due to mechanical aortic valve dysfunction and severe tricuspid valve regurgitation 1 year ago. Two months ago, the patient underwent emergency permanent pacemaker implantation due to syncope caused by a third-degree atrioventricular block. The patient was admitted to the emergency with fever and worsening dyspnea 1 h ago. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed prosthetic aortic valve severe paravalvular leak and tricuspid valve stenosis with vegetation. The patient was scheduled to undergo mechanical aortic valve and bioprosthetic tricuspid valve replacement under median thoracotomy. The intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) view showed severe paravalvular aortic valve leakage and tricuspid valve vegetation. The coronary sinus was significantly enlarged with thrombus formation, vegetation can be seen in the bioprosthetic tricuspid valve leaflets. This is a rare case of infective endocarditis with tricuspid stenosis and coronary sinus thrombosis after the placement of implanted pacemakers.

Resolution of chylopericardium after balloon dilatation of tricuspid valve stenosis in a Labrador Retriever.

A 2-year-old 33 kg female castrated Labrador Retriever was referred for exercise intolerance, hyporexia, and abdominal distention. Point-of-care ultrasound revealed ascites, hepatic congestion, severe pericardial effusion, and cardiac tamponade. Pericardiocentesis was performed, and the chylous nature of the fluid was confirmed by cytology, triglyceride, and cholesterol measurements. Repeated pericardiocentesis was necessary within 24-h after admission, after which a pericardial stay-catheter was placed. Cardiac ultrasound revealed severe tricuspid valve stenosis. Balloon dilatation of the stenotic valve was performed, resulting in a significant drop in the mean diastolic trans-valvular Doppler gradient and long-term resolution of the chylopericardium. No other cause for the pericardial effusion could be identified, suggesting that this is the first described case of chylopericardium due to tricuspid valve stenosis.

Successful implantation of leadless pacemaker in a patient with giant right atrium and tricuspid valve stenosis.

With the steadily increasing amount of leadless pacemaker implantations performed worldwide, it has called attention to the delivery difficulty in patients with severe large right heart. Nevertheless, limited studies have reported leadless pacemaker implantation in patients with tricuspid stenosis. Here, we report the successful implantation of leadless pacemaker in a 60-year-old female patient with giant right atrium and tricuspid valve stenosis. It is highlighted that leadless pacemaker should not be discouraged even if there are tricuspid valve stenosis and giant right atrium.

Pacemaker Lead-induced Tricuspid Valve Stenosis and Reverse Lutembacher Syndrome.

Reverse Lutembacher syndrome is a rare cause of hypoxia characterized by the triad of tricuspid valve stenosis, elevated right atrial pressure, and an interatrial right-to-left shunt. We report a case of pacemaker lead-induced reverse Lutembacher syndrome in a 45-year-old woman who presented with dyspnea. The patient also developed pacemaker lead-induced superior vena cava obstruction accompanied by a right-to-left shunt through systemic-to-pulmonary venous collaterals, which exacerbated the hypoxia. Tricuspid valve replacement using a bioprosthetic valve and patent foramen ovale closure improved her hypoxia.

Pacemaker lead-induced tricuspid stenosis treated with percutaneous valvotomy.

BACKGROUND: Tricuspid stenosis is an uncommon complication of ventricular pacemaker electrode implantation, with few cases reported in the literature. CASE: We present an 18-year-old male who developed severe tricuspid stenosis 15 years after endocardial VVI pacemaker implantation for complete AV block following a surgically repaired ventricular septal defect. CONCLUSION: In this case we have shown that percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty was performed and successful in treating this complication.

A giant atrial septal aneurysm causing tricuspid valvular obstruction.

Atrial septal aneurysm (ASA) is a rare congenital malformation consisting of redundant atrial septal tissue that bulges into either the right or the left atrium. Here, we report the case of a 45-year-old man with a giant ASA prolapsing into the tricuspid orifice and leading to tricuspid valvular obstruction. He was treated successfully by resection of the ASA and repair of the resulting atrial septal defect. Our case indicates the utility of transthoracic, contrast, and transesophageal echocardiography to characterize a huge ASA causing tricuspid valvular obstruction.

Hybrid trans-apical atrioventricular valve-in-valve implantation in Fontan circulation.

Trans-apical approach has been proved successful in failing surgical bio-prosthesis in both mitral and aortic position in adult patients. Recently, valve-in-valve treatments have been applied even in patients with complex congenital heart disease. Here, we report the case of a 32 years old lady with left atrial isomerism, complete AV septal defect, interrupted inferior vena cava with azygos continuation who underwent Kawashima procedure with atrial Fontan. Severe systemic atrioventricular valve regurgitation necessitated a 33 mm Perimount valve implantation and conversion to lateral tunnel Fontan. After only 4 years there was severe valve stenosis and the patient underwent successful trans-apical transcatheter implantation of a 29 mm Sapien valve.

Vector Flow Imaging of the Ascending Aorta in Patients with Tricuspid and Bicuspid Aortic Valve Stenosis Treated with Biological and Mechanical Implants.

Aortic valve stenosis (AS) is treated with biological prostheses (BPs) and mechanical prostheses (MPs). Vector flow imaging (VFI), an angle-independent ultrasound method, can quantify flow complexity (vector concentration (VC)) and secondary rotation (SR). Ten patients (mean age: 70.7 y) with tricuspid AS scheduled for BPs, 10 patients (mean age: 56.2 y) with bicuspid AS scheduled for MPs and 10 patients (mean age: 63.9 y) with normal aortic valves were scanned intra-operatively on the ascending aorta with VFI and conventional spectral Doppler. Bicuspid AS (peak systolic velocity (PSV): 380.9 cm/s, SR: 16.7 Hz, VC: 0.21) had more complex flow (p < 0.02) than tricuspid AS (PSV: 346.1 cm/s, SR: 17.1 Hz, VC: 0.33). Both groups had more complex and faster flow (p < 0.0001) than normal aortic valve patients (PSV: 124.0 cm/s, SR: 4.3 Hz, VC: 0.79). VC (r = 0.87) and SR (r = 0.89) correlated to PSV. After surgery, flow parameters changed (p < 0.0001) for patients with MPs (PSV: 250.4 cm/s, SR: 9.8 Hz, VC: 0.54) and BPs (PSV: 232.4 cm/s, SR: 12.5 Hz, VC: 0.61), with MPs having slower SR (p < 0.01). None of the implants had normal flow (p < 0.0001). In conclusion, VFI can provide new flow parameters for AS and implant assessment.

Differences in Flow-Gradient Patterns Between Severe Bicuspid Aortic Stenosis and Severe Tricuspid Aortic Stenosis　- Mechanistic Insight From Multimodal Imaging.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the flow-gradient pattern characteristics and associated factors in severe bicuspid aortic stenosis (AS) compared with severe tricuspid AS.Methods and Results:A total of 252 patients with severe AS (115 bicuspid vs. 137 tricuspid) who underwent aortic valve (AV) replacement were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were classified into 4 groups according to stroke volume index and mean pressure gradient across the AV [normal-flow-high-gradient (NF-HG), low-flow-high-gradient, normal-flow-low-gradient, low-flow-low-gradient (LF-LG)]. In 89 patients who underwent cardiac computed tomography (CT), influential structural parameters of the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT), AV and ascending aorta were assessed. Bicuspid AS was more likely to present a NF-HG pattern (83.5% vs. 64.2%, P<0.001), and significantly fewer presented a LF-LG pattern compared with tricuspid AS. In bicuspid AS, there was a significant mismatch between geometric orifice area (GOA) on CT planimetry and effective orifice area (EOA) calculated using the echocardiographic continuity equation. Bicuspid AS presented with a larger angle between the LVOT-AV and aorta. Multivariate analysis of bicuspid AS revealed that systemic arterial compliance (ß=-0.350, P=0.031) and the LVOT-AV-aorta angle (ß=-0.538, P=0.001), and stroke volume index (ß=0.409, P=0.008) were associated with a discrepancy between GOA and EOA. CONCLUSIONS: Flow-gradient patterns in bicuspid AS differ from those of tricuspid AS and are associated with the structural and functional characteristics of the aorta.

Right aortic arch with mirror image branching accompanied by absent pulmonary valve syndrome and tricuspid stenosis: Prenatal echocardiographic diagnosis of an unusual congenital heart defect.

Right aortic arch (RAA) with mirror image branching (RAMI) accompanied by absent pulmonary valve syndrome (APVS), tricuspid stenosis, and hypoplastic right ventricle is an extremely rare combination of congenital heart anomalies. This combination might result in severe cardiac failure and respiratory compromise, indicating a poor prognosis. Here, we describe a detailed prenatal echocardiographic diagnosis of RAMI accompanied by APVS and tricuspid stenosis. These anomalies were further confirmed by autopsy. This case could be helpful in improving our understanding of this abnormal combination and the development of an early therapeutic strategy.

Surgical valvulotomy for tricuspid valve stenosis in a dog.

A 2-year, 4-month-old neutered female Labrador retriever was brought for evaluation of right-sided congestive heart failure. Echocardiographic examination revealed tricuspid valve dysplasia with only two small orifices in the valve resulting in severe tricuspid stenosis. The dog underwent a right fifth lateral intercostal thoracotomy and surgical tricuspid valvulotomy, under cardiopulmonary bypass. The stenosis was relieved by dividing the valve leaflets between the two orifices with continuation to the commissures, creating a 'bileaflet' valve. The dog made a good recovery initially, with echocardiography at 48 h after surgery showing a reduction in tricuspid valve E and A wave velocities and pressure half-time (from 230 ms to 65 ms). She was discharged five days after surgery, and spironolactone, benazepril, pimobendan, and clopidogrel were prescribed. The dog was re-presented two days later having collapsed, with pyrexia, facial swelling, and pitting edema on the ventral neck and intermandibular region. Investigations did not reveal an underlying cause, and the clinical signs resolved with supportive therapy. Two years after surgery, the dog was free of clinical signs with normal exercise tolerance and only mild tricuspid regurgitation on echocardiography, with discontinuation of all medications.

Etiology of tricuspid valve disease is a predictor of bradyarrhythmia after tricuspid valve surgery.

AIMS: The tricuspid valve is situated in close proximity to cardiac conduction tissue and damage to this tissue can affect postoperative rhythm. The aim of this study was to quantify the incidence of pacemaker requirement after tricuspid valve surgery and investigate predictors. METHODS: Data were collected via our operative data collection system and patient files. All patients who underwent surgical procedures of the tricuspid valve from 2004 until 2017 and lacked a pacemaker preoperatively were included in the study. RESULTS: In our cohort of 505 patients 54 required a pacemaker in the first 50 days after surgery. We calculated a 17.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 13.5-21.3) risk of pacemaker implantation at 4 years postoperatively. Multivariate analysis identified preoperative active endocarditis (odds ratio 3.17; CI, 1.32-7.65; P = 0.010) and "inadequate pacemaker dependent rhythm" (defined as any intrinsic heart rate below 45 per minute requiring pacing) upon admission to the intensive care unit after surgery (odds ratio 5.924; CI, 2.82-12.44; P = 0.001) as predictors for pacemaker requirement in the first 50 days after surgery. Twenty-six pacemakers (48%) were implanted for atrioventricular block, 16 (30%) for sinus node dysfunction and 12 (22%) for atrial fibrillation. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed no difference in survival between the pacemaker and no pacemaker group. CONCLUSION: Surgery of the tricuspid valve has a high burden of postoperative pacemaker requirement. Preoperative active endocarditis and the initial postoperative rhythm are predictors. Understanding this allows for better decision-making regarding further medical/device therapy.

A Giant Right Coronary Artery Aneurysm Leading to Tricuspid Stenosis.

Giant coronary artery aneurysms (CAAs) are rare coronary artery anomalies. The management of CAAs is still controversial because of the different possible pathophysiologies. In our case, tricuspid stenosis resulting from compression of the giant CAA was successfully relieved by CAA repair. As far as we know, this is the first reported case of compression by a giant CAA resulting in tricuspid stenosis.

Valvular heart disease in Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome: Isolated Tricuspid stenosis.

Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APLS) is a rare disorder characterized by a hypercoagulable state. Manifestations include arterial or venous thrombosis, recurrent fetal wastage, coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, dilated cardiomyopathy, pulmonary artery hypertension, and intracardiac thrombus. Most commonly mitral valve is affected followed by aortic and then tricuspid valve. In this report, a rare case of spontaneous aortic thrombosis with tricuspid stenosis uncomplicated by other valve lesions is presented with clinical and echocardiographic studies and computed tomographic images.

Respirophasic desaturation in multivalvar rheumatic heart disease.

A 28-year-old lady with rheumatic heart disease presented with dyspnoea and overt right heart failure and was admitted for stabilization. She had respirophasic desaturation predominantly during inspiration. Trans-oesophageal echocardiography revealed the aetiology of the same and dictated the management strategy.

[Redo Valve Replacement of Wada-Cutter Prosthetic Valve at Tricuspid Valve Position 47 Years After Implantation;Report of a Case].

We experienced an explantation of Wada-Cutter prosthetic tilting disk valve of 47 years after implantation. The patient was 53 years old female who underwent the 1st operation for Ebstein's anomaly, which included tricuspid valve replacement (TVR), closure of atrial septal defect (ASD) and posterior annulorrhaphy when she was 6 years old. She was doing well after the 1st operation without symptom,but dyspnea and systemic edema worsened recently though increased admission of diuretics. Echocardiography revealed severe tricuspid valve stenosis, severe tricuspid valve insufficiency, and increased right atrium volume. The tilting disk of the valve was almost fixed. The patient underwent repeat TVR. The explanted Wada-Cutter valve was covered by pannus the whole casing and disk. The structure of the valve was preserved but the occlusion disk was almost fixed by pannus formation, not distorted or dislodged.