Rheumatic tricuspid stenosis. A clinical overview.

The clinical, hemodynamic findings and surgical results of forty patients with rheumatic tricuspid stenosis are presented. It is concluded that tricuspid stenosis is a frequent lesion. Its signs should be sought carefully and documented by simultaneous measurements of the right ventricular diastolic and right atrial pressures. Tricuspid stenosis is usually associated with other valvular lesions, whose clinical and hemodynamic findings might be altered. Surgical procedures on these patients involved tricuspid valve repair, commissurotomy or prosthetic valve replacement, in addition to the procedures necessary to correct other associated valvular lesions. Results of surgery were gratifying with significant improvement in 87 percent of patients and a mortality of 3 per cent.