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[Problems related to tricuspid atresia during the first year of life (author's transl)]
Insights
Many infants require surgery for congenital heart defects, but high mortality persists. This is often due to associated aortic coarctation, small pulmonary arteries, or subaortic myocardiopathy, necessitating thorough pre-surgical evaluation.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Congenital Heart Disease Surgery
Abstract:
Sixty six per cent of cases need surgical treatment during the first months of life. The high mortality rate (23 to 40%) in those children which need pulmonary banding or sistemic pulmonary shunts authors believe is due to: 1) The existence of coartation of the aorta in 83% of the cases with trasposition of the great arteries and high pulmonary blood flow. 2) The small diameter of pulmonary arteries in cases with low pulmonary blood flow (smaller than those presenting Fallot's Tetralogy). 3) The association, in 25% of the cases with normally related great arteries, with a subaortic myocardiopathy. These findings require before use of surgical methods: a) Practice of aortography in cases with transposition of great arteries. b) Proper evaluation of pulmonary artery branches diameter performing, if needed, a contrast injection in pulmonary vein. c) Angiographic and echocardiographic studies of left ventricle to rule out association with a hypertrophic myocardiopathy.