Homograft valved right ventricle to pulmonary artery conduit as a modification of the Norwood procedure.

BACKGROUND: The use of a right ventricle to pulmonary artery (RV-PA) conduit in the Norwood procedure has been proposed to increase postoperative hemodynamic stability. A valve within the conduit should further decrease RV volume load. We report our clinical experience with this modification. METHODS AND RESULTS: From February 2002 through August 2005, we performed 88 consecutive Norwood procedures using RV-PA conduits. We used composite valved conduits made from cryopreserved homograft and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in 66 cases (54 pulmonary, 12 aortic homografts), other valved conduits in 14, and unvalved PTFE in 8 cases. Hospital survival was 88.6% overall and increased to 93.1% after the initial year. Early interventions were required in 18 patients (16 for cyanosis). Prestage II cardiac catheterization was performed at a mean age of 126 days. Mean Qp/Qs was 1, with mean aortic saturation 71%, mean O2 extraction 24%, and mean right ventricular end-diastolic pressure 9 mm Hg. Patient weight, use of an aortic homograft valve in the conduit, stage I palliation within the first year of our experience, and low O2 extraction and high transpulmonary gradient prestage II were risk factors for overall death. Early interventions were more frequent in aortic valve conduits compared with all other conduits. CONCLUSIONS: The valved RV-PA conduit was associated with low early mortality after the Norwood procedure. The majority of these patients had normal cardiac output and well-maintained RV function. There may be a higher risk for early conduit interventions and death when aortic valve homografts are used in the RV-PA conduit.

Double-Switch Repair of Corrected Transposition in Association With Criss-Cross Atrial Morphology.

Corrected transposition is a relatively uncommon congenital heart defect characterized by discordance at both the atrioventricular and ventriculoarterial levels. A rare subset of patients with corrected transposition also have criss-cross atrial morphology. We report the surgical treatment of 2 patients with corrected transposition in association with criss-cross atrial morphology, emphasizing the novel atrial baffle required for this operation.

Surgical Repair of 115 Patients With Anomalous Aortic Origin of a Coronary Artery From a Single Institution.

OBJECTIVES: Anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery (AAOCA) has been associated with myocardial ischemia and sudden death. The past decade has provided important insights into the natural history and typical patterns of presentation. However, there are also a number of unresolved controversies regarding the indications for surgery and the efficacy of that surgery. The purpose of this study was to review our surgical experience with AAOCA in 115 patients at a single institution. DESIGN: One hundred and fifteen patients have undergone surgical repair of AAOCA at our institution. There were 82 males and 33 females, and the median age at surgery was 16 years. Fifty-nine patients had preoperative symptoms of myocardial ischemia, including 56 with exertional chest pain or syncope and 3 sudden death events. Twenty-four patients had associated congenital heart defects. Seven patients had an associated myocardial bridge. RESULTS: Surgical repair was accomplished by unroofing of an intramural coronary in 86, reimplantation in 9, and pulmonary artery translocation in 20. There has been no early or late mortality. Fifty-seven (97%) of the 59 symptomatic patients have been free of any cardiac symptoms postoperatively. Two patients had recurrent symptoms and underwent reoperation (one had revision of the initial repair and one had repair of a myocardial bridge). CONCLUSIONS: Surgical repair of AAOCA can be safely performed and is highly efficacious in relieving symptoms of myocardial ischemia. The two "surgical failures" in this series had an anatomic basis and underscore the need to reassess both the proximal and distal anatomy in these patients.

Anatomic Factors Associated With Truncal Valve Insufficiency and the Need for Truncal Valve Repair.

PURPOSE: Truncus arteriosus is a complex and heterogeneous form of congenital heart defect. Many of the risk factors from several decades ago, including late repair and interrupted aortic arch, have been mitigated through better understanding of the entity and improved surgical techniques. However, truncal valve dysfunction remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anatomic factors associated with truncal valve dysfunction and the need for truncal valve surgery. METHODS: This was a retrospective review of 72 infants who underwent repair of truncus arteriosus at our institution. The median age at surgery was nine days, and the median weight was 3.1 kg. Preoperative assessment of truncal valve insufficiency by echocardiography revealed no or trace insufficiency in 30, mild in 25, moderate in 10, and severe in 7. The need for truncal valve surgery was dictated by the severity of truncal valve insufficiency. RESULTS: Sixteen (22%) of the 72 patients undergoing truncus arteriosus repair had concomitant truncal valve surgery. Anatomic factors associated with the need for truncal valve surgery included an abnormal number of truncal valve cusps (P < .005), presence of valve dysplasia (P < .005), and the presence of an anomalous coronary artery pattern (P < .005). Fifteen (94%) of the sixteen patients who underwent concomitant surgery had two or all three of these anatomic factors (sensitivity = 94%, specificity = 85%). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that the presence of specific anatomic factors was closely associated with the presence of truncal valve insufficiency and the need for concomitant truncal valve surgery. Preoperative evaluation of these anatomic factors may provide a useful tool in determining who should undergo concomitant truncal valve surgery.

Surgical repair of anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery.

OBJECTIVES: Anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery (AAOCA) is a rare congenital heart defect that has been associated with myocardial ischaemia and sudden death. There is an ongoing controversy over the indications for surgical intervention and the efficacy of that treatment compared with the natural history. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the medium-term results of surgical repair of AAOCA. METHODS: Seventy-six patients underwent surgical repair of AAOCA at our institution from 1999 to 2013. There were 55 males and 21 females, and the median age at surgery was 15 years. Forty-seven (62%) of the 76 patients had an anomalous right coronary artery, 27 had an anomalous left coronary and 2 had an eccentric single coronary ostia. Forty-one patients had preoperative symptoms of myocardial ischaemia. RESULTS: Surgical repair was accomplished by unroofing of an intramural coronary in 55, reimplantation in 7 and pulmonary artery translocation in 14. There has been no early or late mortality, with a median duration of follow-up of 6 years. One patient presented with severe myocardial ischaemia and subsequently underwent heart transplantation a year following AAOCA surgery. The remaining patients have all remained free of cardiac symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrate two major principles. First, surgical repair of AAOCA is quite safe in centres that take care of a significant number of patients with this entity. Secondly, the surgery is highly effective in eliminating symptoms of myocardial ischaemia. The growing amount of data on postoperative patients suggests that surgical repair can prevent the adverse events seen in the untreated 'natural' history. Based on these observations, it is our current recommendation that all teenagers identified with AAOCA should undergo surgical repair.

Unifocalization of major aortopulmonary collaterals in single-ventricle patients.

BACKGROUND: Unifocalization of major aortopulmonary collateral arteries (MAPCAs) in pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect and intracardiac repair has become the standard of care. However, there are no reports addressing unifocalization of MAPCAs in single-ventricle patients. It is unknown whether their pulmonary vascular bed can be reconstructed and low enough pulmonary vascular resistance achieved to allow for superior or total cavopulmonary connections. METHODS: We reviewed data on all patients with functional single ventricles and unifocalization procedures of MAPCAs. From 1997 to 2005, 14 consecutive children with various single-ventricle anatomies were operated on. RESULTS: Patients had a median of three surgical procedures (range, 1 to 5). Two patients had absent, all others diminutive central pulmonary arteries, with an average of 3.5 +/- 1.2 MAPCAs. Seven patients (50%) had bidirectional Glenn procedures, and 3 of these had Fontan procedures. Median postoperative pulmonary artery pressures measured 12.5 mm Hg (Glenn) and 14 mm Hg (Fontan), respectively. Six patients are alive today (46%), with 1 patient lost to follow-up. Three patients died early and 3 late after initial unifocalization to shunts. One other patient survived unifocalization, but was not considered a candidate for a Glenn procedure and died after high-risk two-ventricle repair. Another patient with right-ventricle-dependent coronary circulation died of sepsis late after Glenn. CONCLUSIONS: In selected patients with functional single ventricles and MAPCAs, the pulmonary vascular bed can be reconstructed sufficiently to allow for cavopulmonary connections. Venous flow to the pulmonary vasculature decreases cardiac volume load and is likely to increase life expectancy and quality of life for these patients.