Long-Term Outcomes After Mitral Valve Replacement and Tricuspid Annuloplasty in Rheumatic Patients

Background: Late tricuspid regurgitation is a common finding in patients with rheumatic valvular disease after mitral valve replacement surgery. However, the long-term benefit of concomitant tricuspid valve annuloplasty has not been established in this population. Methods: This was a single-center retrospective study in a tertiary hospital. The final cohort included 285 rheumatic patients who underwent either isolated mitral valve replacement (147 patients) or mitral valve replacement with concomitant tricuspid valve annuloplasty (138 patients). Tricuspid regurgitation severity grade was assessed according to current echocardiography guidelines and graded using a 0 to 3 scale (none or trivial, mild, moderate, severe). Results: Patients were followed for a total median duration of 10.8 (interquartile range, 6.8 to 14.5) years. The majority of patients undergoing mitral valve replacement were women, with a median age at operation of 59 (interquartile range, 48 to 68) years. Patients undergoing concomitant tricuspid valve annuloplasty had a 3.4-fold odds of improving their tricuspid regurgitation grade at long-term follow-up by multivariate logistic regression. Furthermore, concomitant tricuspid valve annuloplasty was independently associated with a long-term survival benefit in patients with preoperative moderate or severe tricuspid regurgitation (hazard ratio, 0.44; 95% confidence interval, 0.23 to 0.87; p = 0.018). Conclusions: This study demonstrates good long-term results in patients with rheumatic heart disease undergoing mitral valve replacement with concomitant tricuspid valve annuloplasty.