Atrial septal defect repair through limited lateral thoracotomy in children
Takeshi Shinkawa1, Masaaki Yamagishi, Keisuke Shuntoh
1Department of Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery, Children's Research Hospital, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kawaramachi, Hirokoji, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan.
Objective:
We have developed a surgical method for atrial septal defect repair through a limited right lateral thoracotomy in which the incision line begins 2 cm caudal from the lower angle of the scapula and ends at the midaxial line, thereby improving patient satisfaction with the cosmetic results of treatment.
Methods:
We performed a retrospective review of 28 patients who underwent isolated atrial septal defect repair through a limited right lateral thoracotomy between January 2002 and August 2004. The mean age and mean body weight at the time of the operation were 85.8 months (range 9-236 months) and 23.0 kg (range 8.0-56.0 kg), respectively. All repaired defects were the ostium secundum type.
Results:
There was no operative or late mortality and no late morbidity after a mean follow-up of 26 months (range 12-41 months). Echocardiography showed no residual shunt in any of the patients. The mean length of the skin incision was 7.8 cm (range 5.0-11.0 cm), and almost all the patients had satisfactory cosmetic results.
Conclusion:
The atrial septal defect repair through a limited right lateral thoracotomy in pediatric patients showed satisfactory surgical results and excellent cosmetic results.
