[Long-term result of total correction of tetralogy of Fallot]

Long-term result of total correction of tetralogy of Fallot was investigated in 51 patients who underwent operation at least 10 years previously. Ninety percent of the patients who responded to the questionnaires expressed his daily life as satisfactory and 4% of the patients had no exercise limitation even in strenuous sports like swimming and running. It was disclosed that the exercise capacity in long-term period was thought to be prescribed by the developmental state of the pulmonary vascular bed at the time of operation which was expressed by the preoperative hemoglobin level and the PA/Ao diameter ratio and no correlation was found with the RV/LV pressure ratio recorded immediately after correction. Three patients died after discharge, 2 years, 2 years and 6 months and 21 years after operations respectively and the cause of death was supposed to be arrhythmia. In case of postoperative complete right bundle block associated with an extreme right axis deviation or left axis deviation, prophylactic pacemaker implantation was recommended.