Surgical pathology of the pulmonary valve: a study of 116 cases spanning 15 years.

The gross surgical pathologic features of the pulmonary valve were reviewed in 116 patients (63 male and 53 female) who had undergone a cardiac operation with pulmonary valve excision at our institution during the period 1973 through 1987. Although the mean age was 12 years, subjects ranged in age from 3 months to 73 years, and 25 patients, including 19 with congenital heart disease, were older than 20 years of age. Among 105 patients who had pure pulmonary stenosis, 61 (58%) had tetralogy of Fallot, 18 had isolated pulmonary stenosis, 23 had other congenital cardiac anomalies, and 3 had carcinoid heart disease. Five patients had pure pulmonary regurgitation (four with tetralogy and one with infective endocarditis), and four had combined pulmonary stenosis and regurgitation (two with congenital cardiac anomalies and two with carcinoid heart disease). In two patients, the valve was neither stenotic nor regurgitant. Thus, congenital heart disease accounted for 110 of the 116 cases (95%), and tetralogy of Fallot was the most commonly observed form (65 cases). Bicuspid pulmonary valve was the most common anomaly and was present in 58% of patients with tetralogy but in only 17% of those with isolated pulmonary stenosis.