Follow-up Results
Table 5, Figure 2 shows the details of follow-up results. The mean follow-up interval from operation date was 54.01 ± 44.37 months (ranged 3–241 months), and 150 (97.4%) patients completed follow-up. A total of 26 (16.5%) patients died during follow-up; the causes of death were cardiac related (n = 21, 80.8%), stroke (n = 2, 7.7%), cancer (n = 1, 3.8%), unclear (n =2, 7.7%). The overall 1- ,5-year, 10-year and 15-year survival rates were 97.2% [95% confidence interval (CI): 94.5–99.9%], 80.3% (95% CI: 71.7–88.9%), 59.2% (95% CI: 43.5–75.5%) and 49.3% (95% CI: 27.2–71.4%), respectively. The 5-year survival rates were 85.2% (95% CI: 62.1–94.1%) and 76.4% (95% CI:65.6–87.2%), respectively in the e-RITS and m-RITS groups, and no significant difference was found between groups (p = 0.122). Four patients underwent re-do TVR for protheses failures, one patient underwent re-do TVr for recurrent severe TR and two patients underwent transplantation for right heart failure.