Anomalous aortic origin of coronary arteries: an alternative to the unroofing strategy.

OBJECTIVES: Anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery (AAOCA) is the second leading cause of sudden death in children and young adults. The most threatening anatomy is an interarterial and an intramural course, both probably involved in ischaemic phenomena and sudden death. The treatment of interarterial AAOCA remains controversial. Most of the published studies describe the results of the unroofing technique. Our study aims to evaluate the results of a different surgical approach. METHODS: From 2005 to 2019, 61 patients were operated on for an interarterial AAOCA (median age 14.7 years). Forty patients had a right AAOCA, and 21 patients had a left AAOCA including 5 patients with intraseptal course. Seventy percent of patients were symptomatic. Five patients had an aborted sudden cardiac death. Two surgical techniques were used: an 'anatomical' repair for 35 patients (15 left and 22 right AAOCA) or a coronary translocation with creation of a neo-ostia in 19 patients (1 left and 18 right AAOCA). The 5 left AAOCA patients with an intra-septal course required a complete release of the coronary artery from the septum. RESULTS: There was no early or late postoperative death. Three patients had an acute postoperative ischaemic event. Two patients required immediate angioplasty and stenting: 1 patient (7 years) with a hypoplastic right AAOCA and 1 patient (66 years) for inadequate tailoring after septal release. The third patient required an immediate surgical revision (H-2) for left AAOCA thrombosis at the level of the pericardial patch with full myocardial recovery at discharge. During follow-up, 1 patient with right AAOCA translocation and chronic chest pain required subsequent stenting and finally a coronary artery bypass grafting 2 years after initial surgery. One patient who had an asymptomatic mild right coronary stenosis 1 year after anatomical repair was successfully treated by angioplasty alone. All patients but 1 who underwent coronary translocation are totally asymptomatic. All patients with anatomical repair or septal release are free from ischaemic symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Anatomical repair might provide a better protective option for these patients. Unlike unroofing, it treats the entire intramural segment, relocates the ostium at the appropriate sinus level and corrects any acute take-off angle.

Prenatal Diagnosis of Aorto-Left Ventricular Tunnel With Dysplastic Bicuspid Aortic Valve: From Fetal Cardiac Failure to Favorable Outcome.

Aorto-left ventricular tunnel (ALVT) is a rare congenital heart defect. Surgery has to be performed early to avoid life-threatening complications. Prenatal diagnosis of this defect is challenging. We report a case of ALVT diagnosed in a fetus showing premature severe cardiac failure at 24 GA. The new born was operated at day 3 of life with good results. Two years later, he is still doing well recovering a complete normal cardiac function. ALVT should be suggested in front of any fetal cardiac failure. Thanks to early diagnosis, prompt neonatal management can be organized and allows positive outcome.

Ascending aorta and aortic root replacement (with or without valve sparing) in early childhood: surgical strategies and long-term outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: Aortic root and ascending aorta replacements (AARs) are rarely required in the paediatric population. We report here a series of AAR performed in young children using different surgical techniques. METHODS: Between 1995 and 2017, 32 children under the age of 10 years (median age 5.4 years) underwent AAR procedures at our institution. Twenty-two (69%) had a connective tissue disease (infantile Marfan syndrome or Loeys-Dietz syndrome). We performed 11 AAR using a composite graft with a mechanical prosthesis and 21 valve-sparing procedures (10 Yacoub operations and 11 David operations). Median follow-up for operative survivors was 7.7 years (interquartile range 4.2-12.8 years). RESULTS: The cardiac-related early mortality rate was 6%. Patient survival was 91% at both 1 and 10 years. Eleven survivors (38%), all with a status of post-valve-sparing procedure, required an aortic root reintervention with an aortic valve replacement after a median interval of 4.2 years. Interestingly, only patients with infantile Marfan syndrome tended to be associated with risk of reoperation. CONCLUSIONS: Aortic root and AARs are safe in young children whatever the surgical procedure. Aortic valve-sparing procedures show good long-term results except in children with infantile Marfan syndrome whose ineluctable aortic annulus dilatation or aortic valve regurgitation requires reintervention after a short period.

Tetralogy of Fallot and abnormal coronary artery: use of a prosthetic conduit is outdated.

OBJECTIVES: Repair of tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) can be challenging in the presence of an abnormal coronary artery (CA) in 5-12% of cases. The aim of this study was to report our experience with ToF repair without the systematic use of a right ventricle-to-pulmonary artery (RV-PA) conduit. METHODS: We conducted a monocentric retrospective study from 2000 to 2016, including 943 patients with ToF who underwent biventricular repair, of whom 8% (n = 76) presented with an abnormal CA. Mean follow-up time was 50 months (1 month-18 years). RESULTS: The most frequent CA anomaly was the left descending artery arising from the right CA (n = 47, 61.8%). The median age at repair was 7.7 months (1.8 months-16 years). Thirteen patients (17%) required prior palliation, mostly systemic pulmonary shunts for anoxic spells in the neonatal period. Surgical repair allowed us to preserve the annulus in 40 patients (53%) by combining PA trunk plasty, commissurotomy and infundibulotomy under the abnormal CA. If the annulus had to be opened (n = 35, 46%), a transannular patch was inserted after a vertical incision of the PA trunk and extended obliquely on the RV over the anomalous crossing CA (with an infundibulotomy under the abnormal CA). Three patients (4%) required the insertion of an RV-PA conduit (1 valved tube and 2 RV-PA GORE-TEX tubes with annulus conservation). The early mortality rate was 4% (n = 3); none of the deaths was coronary related. Four patients (5%) required reoperation (2 early and 2 late reoperations) for residual pulmonary stenosis, 3 of whom had annulus preservation during the initial repair. The mean RV/left ventricle (LV) pressure ratio and an RV/LV pressure ratio >2/3 were identified as risk factors for right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) reinterventions (P = 0.0026, P = 0.0085, respectively), RVOT reoperations (P = 0.0002 for both) and reoperation for RVOT residual stenosis (P = 0.0002, P = 0.0014, respectively). Two patients underwent pulmonary valve replacement. Freedom from late reoperation was 100% at 1 year, 97% at 5 years and 84% at 10 and 15 years. CONCLUSIONS: Repair of ToF and abnormal CA can be performed without an RV-PA conduit, with an acceptable low reintervention rate. The high early mortality rate in this series remains a concern. If any doubt remains about the surgical relief of the RVOT obstruction, the RV/LV pressure ratio should always be measured in the operating room.

Successful in utero transesophageal pacing for severe drug-resistant tachyarrhythmia.

Sustained fetal tachyarrhythmia can evolve into a life-threatening condition in 40% of cases when hydrops develops, with a 27% risk of perinatal death. Several antiarrhythmic drugs can be given solely or in combination to the mother to achieve therapeutic transplacental concentrations. Therapeutic failure could lead to progressive cardiac insufficiency and restrict therapeutic options to either elective delivery or direct fetal administration of antiarrhythmic drugs, which may increase the risk of death. We report for the first time successful fetal transesophageal pacing to treat a hydropic fetus with drug-resistant tachyarrhythmia.

Intraoperative hypoxia secondary to pneumothorax: The role of lung ultrasound.

Intraoperative pneumothorax during general anesthesia is a dangerous event. It is a possible cause of sudden intraoperative hypoxia, which can be critical especially in high-risk patients such as those with end-stage heart failure. Early diagnosis and effective treatment are essential. We describe the case of a pneumothorax during cardiac transplantation, diagnosed by ultrasound and immediately treated. A good skill in lung ultrasound is advantageous in the management of intraoperative hypoxia, particularly for prompt diagnosis of pneumothorax.

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome: a novel surgical strategy for small-volume centres?

OBJECTIVES: We describe in a prospective study, a novel surgical technique for the management of hypoplastic left heart syndrome inspired by the hybrid Norwood approach. METHODS: This new neonatal palliation comprises replacement of the patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and aortic arch plasty with a pulmonary homograft associated with the banding of both pulmonary arteries and atrial septectomy, under cardiopulmonary bypass without aortic clamping and cardioplegia. Initial results led to tightening of the pulmonary artery band from 3.5 mm to 2.5 mm. RESULTS: From July 2014 to May 2016, 15 patients were initially palliated (13 patients with aortic atresia/mitral atresia, 1 with double inlet right ventricle, 1 with tricuspid atresia) at a median age of 5 days (1-8 days) and a median weight of 3.0 kg (2.3-3.9 kg). All but 2 patients were discharged from the hospital: There was 1 early in-hospital death and 1 patient required hospitalization in the intensive care unit until stage 2. There were also 4 interstage deaths. Nine patients underwent Stage 2 and 1 patient is still waiting. Compared to the classic Norwood procedure, early mortality decreased significantly (43.3-6.7%; P = 0.0074) and overall mortality before Stage 2 was halved (61.6-33.3%). Postoperative morbidity was also reduced. CONCLUSIONS: This new surgical palliative approach to hypoplastic left heart syndrome, particularly useable technically, seems to combine the advantages of the hybrid procedure by avoiding cardiac ischaemia and ventriculotomy without the complications of PDA stenting and restrictive atrial septectomy. Although the mortality rate decreased significantly, it remains substantial in small-volume centres, especially in the interstage period.

Normothermic cardiopulmonary bypass and myocardial cardioplegic protection for neonatal arterial switch operation.

OBJECTIVE: Hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) associated with cold myocardial protection is commonly used to perform neonatal cardiac surgery. Hypothermia is usually chosen to preserve the brain in case of failure of oxygen delivery whatever it may result from. Nowadays, there is a growing number of evidence demonstrating that hypothermia induces deleterious effects, which may culminate in organ dysfunctions. In 2001, we started a protocol where the heart and the body were no longer cooled, in all the procedures, including the arterial switch operation (ASO), except those with aortic arch reconstruction. METHODS: Because data on the neonatal arterial switch operation were prospectively gathered in our unit (and included fine biochemical analysis of myocardial damage), we have compared two consecutive populations of arterial switch operation to sort out the impact of normothermic CPB and normothermic cardioplegia. RESULTS: The results show that warm cardiopulmonary bypass associated with warm cardioplegia is feasible for ASO, and that most of the operative data are similar to hypothermic bypass, none are worse. Among the postoperative data, the cardiac troponin I (cTnI) time course showed significantly lower values in the normothermic group after 24 h (4.46 ng ml(-1) vs 6.17 ng ml(-1) (p = 0.027)), time to extubation is improved (32+/-26 h vs 70+/-69 h (p = 0.02)) and there is a trend to reduce the ICU length of stay (3.5+/-1.5 days vs 5.6+/-3.9 days (p = 0.08)), and consequently the cost of surgery. CONCLUSION: Normothermic cardiopulmonary bypass is feasible for ASO and seems to allow a faster recovery time.