Paediatric open heart surgery in Trinidad and Tobago: an example of collaborative care

Between September 1998 and February 2003, 204 children underwent cardiac surgery in Trinidad and Tobago to correct or palliate congenital heart disease. The defects included isolated ventricular or atrial septal defects as well as tetralogy of fallot and coarctation of the aorta. A few patients also had complex cyanotic congenital heart disease. The patients ranged in age from 2 days to 17 years. In some cases, palliative surgery was undertaken as a first step towards complete correction but the majority of patients underwent complete repair. The commonest postoperative complications were haemorrhage and small transient pericardial effusions. The overall mortality rate was < 1%. This paper describes the cardiac lesions, post-operative morbidity and mortality of these patients.