J.Jpn. Surg. Soc.. 87(4): 443-449, 1986

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Original article

ACUTE AND CHRONIC EXPERIMENTAL TRICUSPID VALVULAR STENOSIS IN DOGS

Acute and chronic experimental tricuspid valve stenosis was produced in 20 dogs. Clinical and hemodynamic alterations that resulted from severe anatomic tricuspid valve narrowing were surprisingly mild. In the acute stenosis studies, the normal tricuspid valve area of 8.2±0.3sq cm was narrowed to less than 1.0±0.1sq cm with a resulting right auricle-right ventricle diastolic gradient of 3.7±0.7mm Hg. In chronic studies, a decrease in tricuspid valve area from 7.6sq cm to 1.6±0.3sq cm produced a diastolic gradient of 1.8±0.2mm Hg. After 60 days, overt signs of right-sided failure (pleural effusions and ascites) were absent, and histological evidence of passive congestion (liver and spleen) was not recognized. The splanchnic vascular beds appear to act as excellent buffers against increases in right-sided cardiac pressure. We conclude that isolated narrowing of the tricuspid valve must be very severe to cause notable clinical and hemodynamic changes.

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