[Surgery for incomplete atrioventricular canal. Mid-term follow-up apropos of 128 patients]

Among 128 consecutive patients operated upon between 1972 and 1984 at the Marie-Lannelongue Surgical Centre for incomplete persistent atrioventricular canal, 102 could be followed up for periods ranging from 18 months to 11 years. Of the 23 patients lost sight of, 19 were foreigners. One patient died during the first postoperative month and two died during the following five months; there was no death thereafter. One patient developed complete atrioventricular block immediately after surgery. At the end of the follow-up period, three patients had been reoperated upon for disinsertion of the patch on the ostium primum associated in one case with massive mitral regurgitation; two complete atrioventricular blocks requiring permanent pacing had occurred some time after surgery; five patients had presented with late atrial dysrhythmia, and only six patients had signs of heart failure primarily due to residual mitral regurgitation. At radiography, the cardiothoracic ratio was reduced in 74 p. 100 of the cases from 0.60 +/- 0.08 to 0.53 +/- 0.05 (p less than 0.001), and the earlier the operation had been performed, the greater the reduction in cardiothoracic ratio (p less than 0.05). A mitral regurgitation murmur was observed in 72 p. 100 of patients immediately after surgery and in 82 p. 100 of patients at the end of the follow-up period. The murmur was usually weak (79 p. 100) with a tendency to remain stable (44 p. 100) or to increase in intensity (43 p. 100, but reoperation was necessary in only one case.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)