Taussig-Bing anomaly: arterial switch versus Kawashima intraventricular repair

Current corrective surgical approaches for the Taussig-Bing heart include arterial switch with ventricular septal defect (VSD) closure and intraventricular repair as described by Kawashima.

Between 1983 and 1994, 20 children underwent intracardiac repair of Taussig-Bing anomaly. Mean age at operation was 17 months (range, 1 week to 9 years). Prior palliation included pulmonary artery band (15) with coarctation repair (8) and atrial septectomy (1). Arterial switch with VSD closure was performed in 16 patients, 10 with anteroposterior great arteries. Kawashima repair was performed in 4 patients, all with side-by-side great arteries.

After arterial switch, there was one operative death (6.2%) due to myocardial ischemia and three late deaths (18.7%) due to pulmonary hypertension, gastrointestinal bleeding, and acute lymphocytic leukemia. In the Kawashima repair group there have been no deaths. After arterial switch, 9 patients underwent 11 reoperations for residual coarctation (3), residual pulmonary artery stenosis (2), aortic valve replacement, aortic valvuloplasty, unrecognized VSD, mitral valvuloplasty, mediastinitis, and pacemaker insertion. After Kawashima repair, 1 patient underwent reoperation for baffle stenosis and 1 for an unrecognized VSD.

For children with Taussig-Bing anomaly, the Kawashima intraventricular repair (for side-by-side great arteries) preserves the native aortic valve and avoids coronary dissection. The arterial switch operation with VSD closure can be applied without ventriculotomy to all great artery relationships and allows neonatal repair with or without concomitant coarctation repair. Both techniques yield excellent early and intermediate-term results despite the high rates of prerepair palliation and postrepair reoperation for both groups.