[Transposition of the great vessels, results of 2 surgical technics]

Venous switch operations for simple transposition of the great arteries are being carried out in increasingly younger patients. To guarantee sufficient growth of the reconstructed atria into adulthood it is advantageous to use as little prosthetic material as possible. We therefore compared the results in 36 patients who underwent the Mustard operation in which a large amount of foreign material is used with the results in 36 patients who underwent the Senning operation in which a small amount, if any, foreign material is used. The Senning operation resulted in a lower hospital mortality and a lower incidence of dysrhythmias.