Surgical correction of atrioventricular canal during the first year of life

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Cardiology
• Congenital Heart Disease Surgery

Background:

• Atrioventricular (A-V) canal defects are serious congenital heart conditions.
• Intractable congestive heart failure necessitates surgical intervention in infants.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of definitive surgical correction for atrioventricular (A-V) canal defects in infants.
• To assess outcomes in infants undergoing surgical repair for complete and partial A-V canal defects.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of eight infants under 1 year of age with A-V canal defects.
• Surgical correction performed due to intractable congestive heart failure.
• Follow-up assessment of surviving children postoperatively.

Main Results:

• One operative death and one late death occurred among the eight infants.
• Six surviving children demonstrated positive outcomes during follow-up periods ranging from 10 months to over 4 years.
• Successful surgical connection of A-V canal was achieved even in very small infants.

Conclusions:

• Definitive surgical correction of A-V canal defects is feasible and yields excellent results in infants.
• Prompt surgical intervention is recommended for infants with A-V canal defects not responding to medical management.
• Elective complete repair is strongly considered for all patients with this lesion and severe pulmonary hypertension within the first 1-2 years of life.