Native Pulmonary Valve Restoration After Remote Tetralogy of Fallot Repair: How To Do It

Methods to repair tetralogy of Fallot have evolved from large ventriculotomy, large transannular patch placement techniques to smaller, transatrial approaches with valve-sparing strategies in select patients. Despite these advances, there continue to be patients in whom transannular patch is inevitable, and the management of the resulting pulmonary insufficiency that develops from this has been the source of considerable discussion. Techniques aimed at restoring pulmonary valve competence utilizing the remaining valve leaflets after transannular patch placement have recently been proposed for very select patient populations. We review the technical aspects of the operation including removal of the transannular patch and bicuspidization of a formerly tricuspid pulmonary valve, which results in a competent, nonstenotic valve. This report confirms the feasibility of these operative details and highlights the importance of planning before initial repair of tetralogy of Fallot as a way to prepare for a future valve restoration procedure and therefore avoid prosthetic valve placement.