Tricuspid Valve Repair - Regurgitation caused by PM Wire

Hey everyone,

I read some of the previous forms around this but couldn't find any recent ones. I was wondering if anyone has any experience getting a valve repair? I haven't been able to find as much online about a repair vs a replacement. I am mainly curious about recovery and the patient experience.  I have had to get a wire removed before and it was brutal for me, but I have never had a valve issue until now. So mostly just trying to figure out what to expect.

 

Some background:

I have posted here a few times before but it has definitely been a while so hi I'm Abi 24F. I have had a pacemaker since I was 9 months old and am currently on my 5th generator. This past year I have been dealing with some serious health issues. I went to the ER in April thinking I was having a heart attack I wasn't (thank goodness) but they noticed I had a severely enlarged liver when they took a chest CT. That led me down a long journey to figure out what was wrong and I just kept getting worse and worse everything from extreme nausea and fatigue to feet swelling and mental fog. After a liver catheterization they realized the liver issues were being caused by a heart problem they thought heart failure so they had me get a right heart catheterization. I just did this yesterday and they found that I have severe tricuspid regurgitation that has been causing all this. My tricuspid valve has basically been stuck largely open due to wire placement since I got my most recent pacemaker in 2016 (the wire had broke and they had to replace it) they are obviously planning to moved the wire but they also said that they will likely need to repair the valve. I wanted to see if anyone on here has faced similar issues and what their experience is with a valve repair and/or replacement. They intend to do the surgery sometime in January. 

 

Thanks!

Abi

2 Comments

Triscupid Valve - severe regurgitation

by Gemita - 2023-12-29 07:38:43

Abi, I am so sorry to hear your news.  

We do have several members who recently had a valve repaired or replaced and I hope they will see your post and respond.   What is recommended will depend on the “particular” valve in question and the degree of leakage or damage and on your general health as to which procedure your doctor might recommend.  Clearly open heart surgery for a complex case would be invasive, but perhaps they might be able to carry out less invasive heart surgery?   

The tricuspid valve controls the flow of blood from your heart's right atrium (top chamber) to the right ventricle (bottom chamber). Blood can leak backward into the atrium from the leaky tricuspid valve, requiring your heart to pump harder to move blood through the valve.

I do realise that for all of us, a leaky Tricuspid valve is a common problem due to trauma of the valve following lead placement but mild leakage should not be a problem.   I have mild leakage.  However, when it progresses to severe regurgitation as you are experiencing, it will need attention and it can be very challenging to fix.  Have a look at the following link which should be copied and pasted into your main browser to open.  I hope it helps and I wish you lots of luck Abi:-

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/tricuspid-valve-replacement-and-repair#:~:text=If your tricuspid valve is,or created by biological tissue.

None with tricuspid valve

by USMC-Pacer - 2023-12-29 14:19:47

I don't have experience with the TV, but lots with the AV. I had it replaced twice. First one was via a mini sternotomy which was as less invasive as was possible at the time in 2007 - 16 years later it wore itself out. Second was this year with a transcatheter replacement (TAVR). MUCH easier replacement and being sent home the next day vs 5 days. I'm no help with your tricuspid issue but trying to post options. Hopefully, they can repair your valve via transcateter rather than surgery. Where it is exposed to much less pressure than the aortic position there may be better repair options than replacement. If not, perhaps transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement could be an option. Here's a link with more information about transcatherter replacement for your research. God Bless!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7917079/

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