| Abstract: | Since October 1975, 6 infants ranging in age from 5 to 9 months and weighing from 5.2 to 7.8 kg have been treated with primary closure of ventricular septal defect (VSD) at Ullev?l Hospital. The indications for operation were large left-to-right shunts combined with persistence of heart failure in 4 patients, a large left-to-right shunt only in one and elevated pulmonary arterial resistance in one patient. Conventional cardiopulmonary bypass was used in all cases. There were no early or late deaths during the mean observation period of 17.3 months (range 3--25 months). One patient developed a recurrent VSD and was successfully re-operated on 8 months after the first operation; otherwise no signs of recurrence were found. The growth and weight gains have been satisfactory and the psychosomatic development of all the infants has been normal. All are in sinus rhythm with right bundle branch block in 4. Cardiac arrhythmias have not been in evidence. |
