Background and Objective: Significant pulmonary regurgitation (PR) after repair of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) could result in right ventricular dysfunction, exercise intolerance, arrhythmia, and sudden death. However, optimal timing of pulmonry valve replacement (PVR) is still a subject of debate. We aimed to examine the effects of PVR on certain electrocardiographic markers.
Subjects and Methods: We studied 42 patients (30 males and 12 females) who underwent PVR for significant PR after repair of TOF. Mean age at PVR was 124 ± 78 months. Pulmonary artery angioplasty (50%) was the most common additional procedure performed during PVR.
Results: Mean follow up period was 29 months. Postoperative cardiothoracic ratio (%) was significantly decreased (60.3±7.9 to 56.2±6.6, p<0.05). QRS duration and QT dispersion remained unchanged in the study group. When we compared the post-PVR electrocardiographic parameters between early operative group (PVR<10 years old) and late group, QT dispersion was significantly prolonged in late operative group(74.3±23.6, 93.3±34.3, p<0.05).
Conclusion: PVR in patients with substantial PR results in a reduction of right ventricular dilatation. And when performed early, QT dispersion was significantly shorter. In this study, we demonstrate that earlier PVR was a resonable option.
keywords: Pulmonary valve replacement; Tetralogy of Fallot, QT dispersion
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