Durability and clinical impact of tricuspid valve procedures in patients receiving a continuous-flow left ventricular assist device.

OBJECTIVE: Patients evaluated for a continuous-flow left ventricular assist device frequently present with severe right ventricular dysfunction with tricuspid regurgitation. Long-term outcomes of concurrent tricuspid valve procedures in continuous-flow left ventricular assist device implantation are unclear.

METHODS: From May 2004 to December 2013, 336 patients received continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices. Among these, 8 patients with prior tricuspid valve procedures were excluded. At continuous-flow left ventricular assist device implantation, 76 patients underwent tricuspid valve procedures (group A), including 68 repairs and 8 replacements. The remaining 252 patients did not receive concurrent tricuspid valve procedures (group B).

RESULTS: Preoperatively, group A had higher central venous pressure/pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (P = .032), total bilirubin (P = .009), and percentage of moderate or greater tricuspid regurgitation (98.7% vs 18.8%; P < .001). In group A, cardiopulmonary bypass time (136 ± 52.0 minutes vs 83.9 ± 38.8 minutes; P < .001), intraoperative platelet use (13.6 ± 6.70 units vs 11.7 ± 5.92 units; P = .042), and bleeding requiring reoperation (27.5% vs 16.7%; P = .046) were significantly increased. In-hospital mortality was similar (10.5% vs 6.4%; P = .22). On-device 2-year survival was 73.9% in group A and 74.2% in group B (P = .24). At 2 years, mean cumulative readmissions for right heart failure was 0.21 in group A and 0.27 in group B (P = .95). A generalized linear mixed-effects model showed that tricuspid valve procedures are protective for developing future significant tricuspid regurgitation (odds ratio, 0.38; 95% confidence interval, 0.19-0.76; P = .006).

CONCLUSIONS: Concomitant tricuspid valve procedures at continuous-flow left ventricular assist device implantation can be performed safely and are protective against worsening tricuspid regurgitation during the first 2 years of support.