title: Long-term follow-up of homograft function after pulmonary valve replacement in patients with tetralogy of Fallot.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyse the long-term outcomes after pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) in patients with a previous correction for tetralogy of Fallot.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In a retrospective study, 158 adult patients with a diagnosis of tetralogy of Fallot, who had undergone a PVR after initial total correction in childhood, were identified from the CONCOR (CONgenital CORvitia) registry. All patients underwent 175 PVRs between June 1986 and June 2005. To analyse the predictors for homograft dysfunction and adverse events (death, reoperations, balloon angioplasty), Cox-regression analysis was performed. Overall freedom from significant homograft dysfunction was 66% after 5 years and 47% after 10 years. We could not identify predictors for combined homograft dysfunction. Event-free survival was 78% at 10 years and 68% at 15 years after PVR. Both early significant pulmonary regurgitation (PR) (HR 6.8, P = 0.017) and pulmonary stenosis (PS) (HR 4.0, P = 0.037) after surgery were associated with adverse events. When analysing direct post-operative PR or PS, we observed that in patients with severe, pre-operative PR, right ventricular aneurysm/patch resection resulted in a lower post-operative PR (mean difference grade 0.38 +/- 0.14, P = 0.01). Less significant post-operative PS was associated with a higher diameter of the homograft (HR 0.37, P = 0.006).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While 47% of the patients in our study were free from homograft dysfunction at 10 years after PVR, event-free survival after PVR remained fairly good (78%). Significant residual lesions directly after surgery influenced event-free survival. A smaller diameter of the pulmonary homograft and severe pre-surgical PR were related to early homograft dysfunction after surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oosterhof
authors.forename: Folkert J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Meijboom
authors.forename: Hubert W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Vliegen
authors.forename: Mark G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Hazekamp
authors.forename: Aeiko H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Zwinderman
authors.forename: Berto J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Bouma
authors.forename: Arie P J
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: van Dijk
authors.forename: Barbara J M
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Mulder
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000502:physiology*; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000209:etiology; D011664:Pulmonary Valve; D011665:Pulmonary Valve Insufficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D011666:Pulmonary Valve Stenosis / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D012086:Reoperation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013771:Tetralogy of Fallot / Q000150:complications*; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous