[Surgical treatment of total abnormal pulmonary venous return. Value of the interaortico-caval approach]

Technical details concerning surgery of supracardiac total anomalous pulmonary venous return are still controversial. It seems to us that approaching the lesion through the cleft that exists between the aorta and the superior vena cava fulfills the two requirements of the surgical procedure: a wide anastomosis between the common pulmonary vein and the left atrium can be created on the heart in situ and therefore without any risk of anatomical distorsion, and the small size of atrial incisions reduces the risk of post-operative arrhythmias.