Objective To conduct a systematic review to evaluate preoperative and postoperative changes of echocardiography indexes which reflect left ventricular morphology and contractile function after heart valve replacement of　patients with valvular heart disease with giant left ventricle. Methods We electronically searched CBMdisc， VIP database，Wanfang database， CNKI database， PubMed and ScienceDirect from time of establishment of each database to June 2012 to identify literatures addressing heart valve replacement for patients with valvular heart disease and giant left ventricle. Quality　of included literatures was evaluated， and relevant data were extracted to conduct meta-analysis. Preoperative and postoperative changes of echocardiography indexes of patients undergoing heart valve replacement were compared. R2.15.2 software was used for statistical analysis. Results Twelve retrospective cohort studies were included in this study involving 833 patients. The quality of included literature was relatively high. Meta-analysis showed that left ventricular end-diastolic　diameter （LVEDD） at 2 weeks， 6 months， 1 year， 2 to 3 years postoperatively were reduced by 11.72 mm［95% CI （9.52，13.92）， P＜0.001］， 20.02 mm ［95% CI （18.28， 21.76）， P＜0.001］， 22.48 mm ［95% CI （19.55， 25.40）， P＜0.001］ and 24.69 mm ［95% CI （22.21， 27.18）， P＜0.001］ respectively compared with preoperative value. Left ventricularend-systolic diameter （LVESD） at 2 weeks， 6 months， 1 year， 2 to 3 years postoperatively were reduced by 7.74 mm ［95% CI （3.76， 11.72）， P＜0.001］， 15.54 mm ［95% CI （12.55， 18.54）， P＜0.001］， 18.84 mm ［95% CI （15.54， 21.14），P＜0.001］ and 21.02 mm［95% CI （17.67， 24.37）， P＜0.001］ respectively compared with preoperative value. Compared　with preoperative value， left ventricular ejection fraction （LVEF） decreased by 7% at 2 weeks postoperatively ［95% CI （1%， 12%）， P=0.013］， increased by 9% at 6 months postoperatively ［95% CI （-14%， -3%）， P=0.002］， increased by 11% at 1 year postoperatively ［95% CI （-22%， 0%）， P=0.041］， and increased by 13% at 2-3 years postoperatively ［95% CI （4%， 21%）， P=0.004］. Compared with preoperative value， left ventricular fraction shortening （LVFS） decreased by 0.05 at 2 weeks postoperatively ［95% CI （0.03， 0.07）， P＜0.001］， increased by 0.02 at 6 months postoperatively ［95% CI （0.00， 0.04）， P=0.055］， increased by 0.03 at 1 year postoperatively ［95% CI （0.00， 0.06）， P=0.035］， and increased by 6% at 2-3 years postoperatively ［95% CI （0.02， 0.11）， P=0.008］. Conclusions LVEED and LVESD of patients with valvular heart disease and giant left ventricle continuously decrease after heart valve replacement， especially in the first 6 months postoperatively， and return to normal in 2 to 3 years. LVEF and LVFS decrease in the first 2 weeks postoperatively， then start to increase， are higher than preoperative values at 6 months， and return to normal in 2 to 3 years. Heart valve replacement is conducive for the recovery of left ventricular morphology and systolic function of patients with valvular　heart disease and giant left ventricle.

Citation： DONG Nianguo,SHI Jiawei,YIN Ping. Changes of Left Ventricular Morphology and Contractile Function after Heart Valve Replacement of Patients with Valvular Heart Disease and Giant Left Ventricle：A Systematic Review. Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 2013, 20(2): 125-134. doi: 10.7507/1007-4848.20130043 Copy