Background: Residual pulmonary regurgitation following repair of tetralogy of Fallot, in particular the use of a transannular patch, has been shown to correlate with the development of right ventricular dysfunction. Optimal timing of pulmonary valve replacement, therefore, is important to preserve right ventricular function. Several recent studies suggested that a threshold of right ventricular end-diastolic volume for intervention, in order to preserve the likelihood of adequate reverse remodeling, is in the region of 150 to 200 ml/m2 body surface area. However, there is evidence that right ventricular function does not always recover following pulmonary valve replacement even if the end-diastolic volume is below this cut-off.