BACKGROUND Cardiac valve procedures are commonly performed concurrently during implantation of left ventricular assist devices, but the added procedural risk has not been studied in detail. METHODS AND RESULTS Data from patients receiving the HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device in the ADVANCE bridge to transplant (BTT) trial and continued access protocol were reviewed. Of 382 consecutive pati...

In two patients with rheumatic heart disease a short, loud, high pitched, early diastolic, snapping sound was heard at or below and to the right of the xiphisternum. Except for the different area of audibility it was similar on auscultation to the opening snap of the mitral valve. Both patients showed clinical evidence of tricuspid as well as mitral and aortic valvular disease. There was hemody...

BACKGROUND Surgical treatment of tricuspid valve endocarditis (TVE) ranges from vegetectomy to valve replacement with the use of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), accompanied by risks of systemic and lung complications. We present our experience with tricuspid valve vegetectomy under inflow occlusion without CPB. METHODS Between July 1998 and July 2001, seven patients with a mean age of 26 years ...

A 64-year-old female, admitted because of severe dyspnea on exertion and facial edema, showed echocardiographic findings of a large tumor in the right ventricle (RV). Echocardiography revealed a cardiac mass extending from the RV across the tricuspid valve into the right atrium, synchronized with the cardiac cycle, and severe tricuspid regurgitation was apparent. The mass was removed under card...

Right sided infectious endocarditis (IE) by involvement of tricuspid valve is mainly associated with cardiac malformations or intravenous drug use. Occurrence of right-sided IE in children with structurally normal heart is exceptionallyrare. We report the case of 9-year-old child presenting with bronchopneumonia and septicaemia who was diagnosed to have native tricuspid valve staphylococcal end...

The clinical diagnosis of the presence and severity of tricuspid insufficiency is difficult and is complicated by the transient nature of this abnormality as well as its usual occurrence in subjects with other valve disease. This paper presents correlative hemodynamic data from 100 consecutive catheterized patients with valvular heart disease in 90 of whom the presence of tricuspid insufficienc...

The clinical diagnosis of the presence and severity of tricuspid insufficiency is difficult and is complicated by the transient nature of this abnormality as well as its usual occurrence in subjects with other valve disease. This paper presents correlative hemodynamic data from 100 consecutive catheterized patients with valvular heart disease in 90 of whom the presence of tricuspid insufficienc...

Transthoracic 2-dimensional (D) echocardiography (echo) is often used to assess tricuspid regurgitation (TR) after implantation of permanent pacemakers. However, its ability to define the precise anatomical relationship between the tricuspid valve and the pacemaker lead is quite limited. This report presents a 58-year-old male with aggravation of TR after pacemaker implantation for heart block....

Organic disease of the tricuspid valve required surgery in 18% of all patients undergoing valve replacement over a five-year period. Differentiation of organic from functional disease is difficult and may be made only at open-heart surgery. The results of a series of 56 patients who underwent tricuspid valve replacement are presented; of these, 53 had organic disease. Operative mortality at the...

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY The biodegradable ring was recently developed for mitral and tricuspid annuloplasty. The study aim was to assess the histological biocompatibility of the biodegradable ring and orifice area growth in a porcine model. METHODS The smallest (size 16) biodegradable ring was implanted into the tricuspid annulus of 16 juvenile pigs. All animals were followed up by tr...