title: The role of annular dimension and annuloplasty in tricuspid aortic valve repair.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Valve sparing reimplantation can improve the durability of bicuspid aortic valve repair compared with subcommissural annuloplasty, especially in patients with a large basal ring. This study analyses the effect of basal ring size and annuloplasty on valve repair in the setting of a tricuspid aortic valve.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 1995 to 2013, 382 patients underwent elective tricuspid aortic valve repair. We included only those undergoing subcommissural annuloplasty, valve sparing reimplantation or no annuloplasty and in whom intraoperative transoesophageal echocardiography images were available for retrospective pre- and post-repair basal ring measurements (n = 323, subcommissural annuloplasty: 146, valve sparing reimplantation: 154, no annuloplasty: 23). In a subgroup of patients with available echocardiographic images, basal ring was retrospectively measured at the latest follow-up or prior to reoperation. subcommissural annuloplasty and valve sparing reimplantation were compared after matching for degree of aortic regurgitation and root size.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All three groups differed significantly for most of preoperative characteristics. Hospital mortality was 0.9%. The median follow-up was 4.7 years. At 8 years, overall survival was 80 ± 5%. Freedom from reoperation and freedom from aortic regurgitation >1+ were 92 ± 5% and 71 ± 8%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, predictors of aortic regurgitation >1+ were left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (P = 0.003), cusp repair (P = 0.006), body surface area (P = 0.01) and subcommissural annuloplasty (P = 0.05). In subcommissural annuloplasty, freedom from aortic regurgitation >1+ was lower for patients with basal ring ≥28 mm compared with patients with basal ring <28 mm (P = 0.0001). In valve sparing reimplantation, freedom from aortic regurgitation >1+ was independent of basal ring size (P = 0.38). In matched comparison between subcommissural annuloplasty and valve sparing reimplantation, freedom from aortic regurgitation >1+ was not significantly different (P = 0.06), but in patients with basal ring ≥28 mm, valve sparing reimplantation was superior to subcommissural annuloplasty (P = 0.04). Despite similar intraoperative reduction in basal ring size in subcommissural annuloplasty and valve sparing reimplantation, patients with subcommissural annuloplasty exhibited greater increase in basal ring size during the follow-up compared with the valve sparing reimplantation group (P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As with a bicuspid aortic valve, a large basal ring predicts recurrence of aortic regurgitation in patients with tricuspid aortic valve undergoing repair with the subcommissural annuloplasty technique. This recurrence is caused by basal ring dilatation over time after subcommissural annuloplasty. With the valve sparing reimplantation technique, large basal ring did not predict aortic regurgitation recurrence, as prosthetic-based circumferential annuloplasty displayed better stability over time. Stable circumferential annuloplasty is recommended in tricuspid aortic valve repair whenever the basal ring size is ≥28 mm.
authors.affiliation: Pôle de Recherche Cardiovasculaire, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, Université Catholique de Louvain and Division of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Brussels, Belgium laurent.dekerchove@uclouvain.be.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: de Kerchove
authors.affiliation: Pôle de Recherche Cardiovasculaire, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, Université Catholique de Louvain and Division of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mastrobuoni
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Munir
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boodhwani
authors.affiliation: Pôle de Recherche Cardiovasculaire, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, Université Catholique de Louvain and Division of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Parla
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Astarci
authors.affiliation: Pôle de Recherche Cardiovasculaire, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, Université Catholique de Louvain and Division of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rubay
authors.affiliation: Pôle de Recherche Cardiovasculaire, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, Université Catholique de Louvain and Division of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Poncelet
authors.affiliation: Pôle de Recherche Cardiovasculaire, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, Université Catholique de Louvain and Division of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Brussels, Belgium Division of Cardiology, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Vanoverschelde
authors.affiliation: Pôle de Recherche Cardiovasculaire, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, Université Catholique de Louvain and Division of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Noirhomme
authors.affiliation: Pôle de Recherche Cardiovasculaire, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, Université Catholique de Louvain and Division of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Gebrine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: El Khoury
mesh_terms: D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D058385:Cardiac Valve Annuloplasty / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D007430:Intraoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059351:Organ Sparing Treatments / Q000379:methods / Q000401:mortality; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D012086:Reoperation; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014262:Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: Annuloplasty; Aortic insufficiency; Aortic valve repair; Valve sparing root replacement