Surgical treatment for hypoplastic left heart syndrome: case reports

A 58-day-old girl with hypoplastic left heart syndrome underwent bypass grafting from the pulmonary artery to the descending aorta, ligation of the ductus arteriosus, and banding of the main pulmonary artery distal to the graft. Anastomoses of the graft were performed by partial clamping of the arteries under moderate surface hypothermia. The patient tolerated the procedure well and was discharged from the intensive care unit on the eleventh postoperative day, but she died on the twentieth day of metabolic derangement. Our total experience with this anomaly includes three other infants, and a summary of these patients and applied surgical procedures are presented. Surgical and diagnostic considerations for this anomaly based on our experiences are discussed.