title: Surgical management of isolated congenital tricuspid regurgitation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Isolated congenital tricuspid regurgitation without downward displacement of the leaflet is a rare clinical entity. Degenerative cusps and lack of chordae may preclude valvuloplasty and require valve replacement.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three consecutive patients with isolated congenital tricuspid regurgitation underwent surgical repair between May 1995 and April 1997. Their ages were 23, 15, and 8 years old. Tricuspid valvuloplasty was feasible in all of them, with use of a gathering suture of the anterior leaflet, artificial chordae implantation, and ring annuloplasty.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All 3 patients survived and recovered well after the operation. The cardiothoracic ratios on their chest roentgenograms decreased from 0.64 to 0.52 in patient 1, from 0.58 to 0.48 in patient 2, and from 0.60 to 0.44 in patient 3. Postoperative echocardiograms showed competent tricuspid valves and the disappearance of regurgitation in all cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although malformation of the valve is extensive in isolated congenital tricuspid regurgitation, application of artificial chordae with conventional valvuloplasty technique can avoid the use of prosthetic valves by establishing the competence of the tricuspid valve.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan. katogi@mc.med.keio.ac.jp
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Katogi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aeba
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawada
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D013536:Suture Techniques; D014261:Tricuspid Valve / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000601:surgery; D014262:Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency / Q000151:congenital* / Q000601:surgery*