Cosmetic approach for correction of simple congenital heart defects in female patients.

OBJECTIVE: Much more concern is recently paid to the cosmetics when simple congenital heart defect is repaired. Here we present the reversed U-shaped skin incision with lower partial sternotomy for juvenile or adult female patients. METHODS: Four patients with atrial septal defect (ASD) and one patient with ventricular septal defect underwent the operation with this method. Patients' ages ranged from 5 to 46 years old. RESULTS: Postoperative recovery in all cases was uneventful. Only the middle portion of the operative scar was visible when the breast was well developed. The scar was completely covered by the brassiere. A numbness of the upper medial portion of the left breast was recognized in one initial patient, who underwent ASD closure and concomitant right-side Maze procedure, necessitating a wider dissection than that used for other patients. CONCLUSION: A reversed U-shaped skin incision with a lower sternotomy could provide relatively comfortable operative fields for cardiac surgeons, and be cosmetically appealing to female patients who require a repair of simple congenital heart defect.

Successful trapdoor technique for two separate coronary ostia in a single aortic sinus in arterial switch operation for complete transposition of the great arteries.

Two separate origins of coronary arteries from a single aortic sinus remains a rare but significant congenital anomaly for surgical repair. We experienced a case of a newborn with complete transposition of the great arteries with unusual coronary arteries with two separate ostia positioned close to each other in the same right aortic sinus, and the left coronary artery coursing behind the pulmonary artery. No description of this case in the English literature has been published to our knowledge. Precise anatomical diagnosis was made at operation, and these anomalous coronaries were successfully transferred by the trapdoor technique with delicate adjustment after transfer. Postoperative catheterization and angiogram done 14 months after the arterial switch operation showed no coronary artery stenosis along with normal chamber pressures. The infant is asymptomatic and shows normal development for his age.

Right ventricle-pulmonary artery shunt in first-stage palliation of hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Pulmonary overcirculation through a systemic-pulmonary shunt has been one of the major causes of early death after the Norwood procedure. To avoid this lethal complication, we constructed a right ventricle-pulmonary shunt in first-stage palliation of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. METHODS: Between February 1998 and February 2002, 19 consecutive infants, aged 6 to 57 days (median, 9 days) and weighing 1.6 to 3.9 kg (median, 3.0 kg), underwent a modified Norwood operation with the right ventricle-pulmonary artery shunt. The procedure included aortic reconstruction by direct anastomosis of the proximal main pulmonary artery and a nonvalved polytetrafluoroethylene shunt between a small right ventriculotomy and a distal stump of the main pulmonary artery. The size of the shunt used was 4 mm in 5 patients and 5 mm in 14. RESULTS: All patients were managed without any particular manipulation to control pulmonary vascular resistance. There were 17 survivors (89%), including 3 patients weighing less than 2 kg. Two late deaths occurred due to obstruction of the right ventricle-pulmonary artery shunt. Thirteen patients underwent a stage II Glenn procedure after a mean interval of 6 months, with 2 hospital deaths. To date, a stage III Fontan procedure has been completed in 4 patients. Overall survival was 62% (13/19). Right ventricular fractional shortening at the last follow-up (3-48 months after stage I) ranged from 26% to 43% (n = 13, mean, 33%). CONCLUSION: Without delicate postoperative management to control pulmonary vascular resistance, the modified Norwood procedure using the right ventricle-pulmonary shunt provides a stable systemic circulation as well as adequate pulmonary blood flow. This novel operation may be particularly beneficial to low-birth-weight infants with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.