Late right ventricular failure after Mustard operation for transposition of the great arteries

The clinical course and postmortem findings of an unusual case of complete transposition of the great arteries, in which the Mustard operation was not performed until the patient was 12 years of age, are documented with serial catheterizations showing adequate repair. The clinical course of the patient was uneventful for 8 years after surgery, when right (systemic) ventricular failure occurred, resulting in the patient's death at 20 years of age. Late cardiac failure, the cause of death, is not a commonly described problem after successful surgical repair of transposition of the great arteries.