De Vega Annuloplasty and Carpentier-Edwards Ring Annuloplasty for Secondary Tricuspid Regurgitation
Katsuhiko Matsuyama MD, Masahiko Matsumoto MD, Takaaki Sugita MD, Jyunichiro Nishizawa MD, Yoshiyuki Tokuda MD, Takehiko Matsuo MD, Yuichi Ueda MD

The results of De Vega annuloplasty were compared with those of Carpentier-Edwards (CE) ring annuloplasty in patients with secondary tricuspid regurgitation (TR). Twenty-eight patients underwent De Vega annuloplasty, and 17 had a CE ring annuloplasty. One CE patient died of left ventricular dysfunction after postoperative bleeding. Tricuspid ring size after repair was similar in both groups. Mean follow up in the entire patient cohort was 39 ± 23 months. TR recurrence was rated as grade II or III in 13 patients (45%) after De Vega annuloplasty, but in only one patient (6%) after CE ring annuloplasty (p = 0.027). CE ring annuloplasty significantly decreased the recurrence of TR.