• Byung Won Yoo, Jung Ok Kim, Young Jin Kim, Jae Young Choi, Han Ki Park, Young Hwan Park, and Jun Hee Sul.
• Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. bwyoo@yuhs.ac
• J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 2012 Jun 1;143(6):1299-304.

ObjectivesIn correction of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), surgical strategies to minimize right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) enlargement have recently been preferred. However, we may be confronted with residual pulmonary stenosis (PS) combined with pulmonary regurgitation (PR), and how the pressure load affects these patients is not evident.MethodsWe compared 51 patients with PR and significant PS (PR with PS group) with 87 patients with PR without significant PS (PR group) using echocardiography and cardiac magnetic imaging. We evaluated the differences in parameters derived by magnetic resonance imaging between the 2 groups and the influence of the pressure load on right ventricular (RV) volume and function.ResultsAlthough the PR fraction was similar between the 2 groups, the PR with PS group showed significantly smaller RV end-diastolic volume (136.7 ± 26.5 mL/m(2) vs 151.2 ± 34.7 mL/m(2); P = .01), RV end-systolic volume (68.1 ± 23.7 mL/m(2) vs 80.2 ± 27.5 mL/m(2); P = .01), and slightly better RV ejection fraction (51.1% ± 9.8% vs 47.6% ± 8.9%; P = .03) than the PR group. For influence of the pressure load, PR fraction (r = -0.18, P = .03), RV end-diastolic volume (r = -0.25, P = .003), and RV end-systolic volume (r = -0.24, P = .005) were decreased as peak pressure gradient of PS was higher. Linear regression analysis revealed that both PR fraction and peak pressure gradient of PS were independent predictors for RV volume.ConclusionsOur study demonstrated that the RV pressure load prevented RV dilatation from chronic PR without systolic dysfunction. It is suggested that a proper relief of RVOT obstruction with acceptable residual stenosis is more advantageous than aggressive RVOT enlargement in the long-term outcome of repaired TOF.Copyright © 2012 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

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