Diagnosed corrected transposition of great arteries after cesarean section: A case report

Corrected transposition of the great arteries (cTGA) is a cardiac malformation in which the ventricular and arterial-ventricular positions in the heart are doubly reversed. In general, this defect puts a load on the systemic circulation and causes heart failure, resulting in a poor prognosis. This article reports a case of cTGA detected in a patient with post-caesarean pregnancy who had undergone elective caesarean section and was experiencing an episode of acute heart failure.

This was the case of a 36-year-old gravida 3 para 1 woman. No problems were noted in the puerperal course following the previous pregnancy. The current pregnancy was also uneventful. An elective caesarean section was performed and the patient was discharged from the hospital 7 d after the operation. On postoperative day 18, the patient became aware of breathing difficulty and presented at a nearby clinic, where she was referred to our institution after bilateral pleural effusions were detected. She was then diagnosed with acute heart failure after noting the presence of a prominent pedal oedema and SpO₂ 91% (supine position and room air); the patient was promptly hospitalised for close examination and treatment. Although chest computed tomography revealed the presence of cTGA, no other cardiac malformations were observed. Owing to improvements in both the pedal oedema and pleural effusions, the patient was discharged on day 9.

Close examination should be performed on the premise of congenital cardiac malformation when heart failure symptoms are noted during perinatal control.