Retrospective Evaluation Of Echocardiography In Prosthetic Valve Dysfunction

Objective To evaluation the diagnostic value of echocardiography in prosthesis valve dysfunction(PVD).Methods Eighty-six patients who underwent reoperation due to PVD were included, and the preoperative, intro-operative and postoperative results of echocardiography was compared with the results of surgery or pathologic diagnosis.Result Dysfunctional valves include52mechanical,36biological and1allogenic valve. The types of PVD diagnosed by echocardiography are stenosis in40, regurgitation in15, stenosis and regurgitation in23, intermittent obstruction in8, and total obstruction in1. The etiology of mechanical PVD based on cardiac surgery was thrombus in12, fibrous tissue hyperplasia in23, thrombus and fibrous tissue hyperplasia in16, lost of mechanical disc in1. The etiology of biological PVD was degeneration in20, cusps tear in7, perforation of valve cusp in5, infective endocarditis with vegetations in3, thrombus in1and fibrous tissue hyperplasia in1. Complementary message by transesophageal echocardiography were provided in12patients and corrective message in1patient. No recurrent MPVD was found during the follow-up.Conclusions Echocardiography can be used as the first choice to the evaluation of the MPVD. TTE can make precise assessment of the abnormal hemodynamic change and state of motion of the valve and make improved etiologic diagnosis of dysfunction combined with TEE.