Non-visible scar surgery: Right axillary thoracotomy approach for partial atrioventricular canal repair

As the outcomes of the repair of congenital heart defects have improved, minimizing the long-term morbidity associated with these repairs has become more important. Avoiding a midline incision and hiding the incision in the axilla allows a virtual "non-visible scar" repair, which can be beneficial for avoiding future psychological morbidity. In this tutorial, we present our technique for right axillary incision for the repair of a partial common atrioventricular defect.