Long-term follow-up after trans-catheter tricuspid valve-in-valve replacement with balloon-expandable aortic valves

Background Transcatheter tricuspid VIV replacement has been proposed as a feasible option for high-risk patients with previous tricuspid valve replacement that undergo valve degeneration causing refractory heart failure. However, little is known about the long-term outcome of patients treated with transcatheter tricuspid VIV. We evaluate the safety of transcatheter tricuspid valve-in-valve (VIV) replacement by using balloon–expandable aortic valve stents and the long-term follow-up. Methods and results From January 2013 to March 2016, 4 patients underwent transcatheter tricuspid VIV in our center using balloon-expandable Edwards Sapien-XT and Sapien-3 valves. In all cases the procedure succeeded with significant improvement of the tricuspid valve area (from 0.98 ± 0.29 cm2 to 3.1 ± 0.45 cm2, p = 0.005), right atrial pressure (from 21 ± 7.78 mmHg to 8.5 ± 2.51 mmHg, p = 0.025) and mean trans-valvular gradient (from 11.5 ± 4 mmHg to 3.32 ± 1.28 mmHg, p = 0.02). Three out of 4 patients presented a follow up longer than 2.5 years. At median follow up of 32 months (range 9–47 months) all patients were alive and presented with NYHA class I-II. Only one patient, who presented impaired right ventricular function at baseline, experienced re-hospitalization during the follow-up time. Echocardiographic assessment at long-term disclosed a well-maintained hemodynamic performance with low trans-valvular gradients and no significant valvular regurgitation in all cases. Conclusions In our experience, trans-catheter tricuspid VIV demonstrated good long-term results in terms of valve performance and functional class improvement at 32 months from intervention.