| Abstract: | The post-operative review of 81 patients operated for a large interventricular communication before the age of two years reveals excellent results: the mean age at operation was 7 months, extracorporeal circulation was performed in 25 patients for a mean duration of 77 minutes and profound hypothermia to 18 degrees C was induced in 56 patients. The atrial approach was used in 30% of cases. The mean follow-up period is 26 months. There was one case of complete bundle branch block, which was subsequently fitted with a pacemaker, 7 cases of bifascicular branch block and a right bundle branch block in the majority of cases. The pulmonary vascular resistance was virtually normal (a mean of 3.2 U.m-2 prior to the operation and a mean of 1.9 U.m-2 after the operation). The left ventricular volume, which was markedly increased in all patients preoperatively, returned to normal with maintenance of a normal ejection fraction. The neuro-psychomotor behaviour was abnormal in 13 of the 63 patients tested. These abnormalities are not related to the correction procedure, but to pre-existing pathology (small birth weight). 52 patients from a series of 63 cases operated for tetralogy of Fallot before the age of 2 years (median age 12 months) were also reviewed. Extracorporeal circulation lasting a mean of 115 minutes was performed in 31 patients, cardiac arrest under profound hypothermia was induced in the other cases, for a mean duration of 61 minutes. The mean follow-up period was 29 months.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) |
