Surgical Outcomes and Postoperative Prognosis Beyond 10 Years for Double-Chambered Right Ventricle

Abstract

Double-chambered right ventricle (DCRV) is a rare condition. Stenosis of DCRV is progressive, and early surgical intervention is recommended for patients whose symptoms and/or pressure overload of right ventricular (RV) inflow are progressive. However, there are few data regarding the postoperative course of DCRV, and the surgical indications for asymptomatic patients remain to be determined. We retrospectively investigated 38 consecutive patients who were diagnosed with DCRV and underwent surgical intervention from 1981 to 2009. Moreover, we identified 29 patients in whom long-term follow-up transthoracic echocardiographic data were available and investigated the postoperative recurrence of DCRV by evaluating the systolic pressure of RV inflow before, immediately, and in the long term after surgical intervention. The mean follow-up period was 11.0 ± 8.8 years. There were no deaths and no surgical reinterventions during the long-term follow-up period. Among 29 patients with long-term follow-up echocardiographic data, there was no recurrence of DCRV. In these patients, the systolic pressure of RV inflow by echocardiography before, immediately, and long-term after surgical intervention was 80 ± 26, 30 ± 11, and 25 ± 6 mm Hg, respectively. In conclusion, the surgical outcomes and postoperative prognosis beyond 10 years of DCRV are favorable, and neither recurrence of DCRV nor fatal arrhythmias develop during the long-term follow-up period.