OBJECTIVE: To assess the results of a technical modification of tricuspid valvuloplasty in Ebstein's anomaly. METHODS: From November 1993 to August 2002, 21 patients with Ebstein's anomaly of the tricuspid valve, with ages ranging from 20 months to 37 years (mean, 23 years), underwent a new technique of tricuspid valvuloplasty. This technique consisted of total or almost total detachment of the anterior tricuspid megaleaflet from the ventricular wall and valvular ring, transforming it into a cone, whose vertex remained fixed in the right ventricular tip, and the base was sutured to the tricuspid ring, after its plication, adjusting it to the size of the base of the cone (tricuspid ring), including the septal region. RESULTS: One (4.7%) patient with cardiomyopathy caused by chronic hypoxia died in the hospital due to low cardiac output. The mean follow-up lasted 4 years, and the recent echocardiograms showed good morphology of the right ventricle and tricuspid valve with mild or minimal insufficiency in 18 patients and moderate insufficiency in 2 patients. In 2 of the 3 patients with an anomalous bundle, it could be located and sectioned during surgery. No atrioventricular block occurred. CONCLUSION: The technique used was efficient in repairing tricuspid insufficiency and restoring right ventricular morphology, being applicable to all anatomic types of Ebstein's anomaly, except for Carpentier classification type D.
Ebstein's anomaly; tricuspid insufficiency; tricuspid valvuloplasty
