Surgical management of ventricular septal defect in infancy

Symptomatic ventricular septal defects in infants who responded poorly to intensive medical therapy require surgical intervention. This paper aims to compare the results of the two stage approach of initial pulmonary artery banding followed by debanding and ventricular septal defect closure with primary intracardiac repair in infancy. Thirty-six infants underwent pulmonary artery banding between 1968-1979 with two operative deaths (5.6%). Eighteen patients underwent pulmonary artery debanding and closure of ventricular septal defect between 1971-1979 with five operative deaths (25.6%). However during 1978-1979 ten patients underwent 2nd stage repair with no operative death. During the same period primary intracardiac repair in infancy was carried out in nine infants with three operative deaths (33.3%). There appears to be still a place for two stage treatment of symptomatic ventricular-septal defect in critically ill infants certain situation.