Background
Isolated atrioventricular valve regurgitation is uncommon in the paediatric population. Many techniques have been described to treat the wide spectrum of abnormalities causing valve regurgitation.
Methods
From April 2005 to September 2008, 14 patients, mean age 7,2 yy(range 2-18 yy) underwent tricuspid(group A: 8 patients) or mitral valve repair(group B: 6 patients). Among patients in group A in one case a Clover technique with annuloplasty ring insertion was adopted while the others were treated with annuloplasty ring insertion. In group B in 5 cases the edge to edge technique with annuloplasty ring was used for anterior or bileaflet prolapse and in one case a plasty of the commissure was used.
Results
There was no death in either groups and one patient in group B(treated with edge to edge repair) required a reoperation for mitral subvalvar stenosis. No patient had mitral or tricuspid regurgitation more than 1+ at a mean follow-up of 16 months. None of the patients had any valve related event.
Conclusions
The repair of the atrioventricular valve is an uncommon procedure in the paediatric population. The edge to edge technique is a safe and useful technique for the anterior or bileaflet prolapse of the mitral valve and can be safely and successfully employed in the paediatric population, generally associated with an annuloplasty. The Clover technique(“extension” of the edge to edge to a tri-leaflet valve) can be useful in patients with tricuspid regurgitation. Early results are encouraging but a longer follow-up is needed to evaluate the long-term prognosis.