Valve-on-valve technique for replacement of degenerated tricuspid bioprosthetic valve without explantation

A 73-year-old woman admitted to our hospital with shortness of breath and edema of the lower extremities was diagnosed with right ventricular failure stemming from tricuspid valve regurgitation. She had undergone mitral valve replacement (MVR) with a mechanical valve at the age of 51, and reoperative MVR with mechanical valve, tricuspid valve replacement (TVR) with bioprosthetic valve, and pacemaker implantation at the age of 63. Reoperative TVR was performed when the patient failed to respond to drug therapy. A beating heart cardiopulmonary bypass procedure was performed in which only the bioprosthetic valve leaflet was excised, and reoperative TVR was performed with a 27-mm OptiForm^TM mechanical mitral valve (Sulzer Carbomedics Inc., Austin, TX, USA) by the valve-on-valve technique. The operative course was uneventful. The technique used here appears to be an effective approach to reoperative TVR, in this instance making it possible to avoid the risks associated with excision of the old prosthesis.