The arterial switch procedure for transposition of the great arteries

Transposition of the great arteries is the most common congenital heart defect among the birth defects that present with cyanosis during the early neonatal period. Infants with this cardiac birth defect, in which the aorta originates from the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery originates from the left ventricle, usually do not survive without surgical intervention in the first few days of life. The arterial switch procedure, performed via a median sternotomy incision during cardiopulmonary bypass, restores the aorta and pulmonary artery to their normal anatomic positions.