The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 21, 243-246, Copyright © 1976 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Interrupted aortic arch: factors influencing prognosis
JR Allard, RL Williams and AR Dobell
From January, 1969, to June, 1974, 11 infants with interrupted aortic arch
were operated upon. Eight of them died in the perioperative period. Their
cases were reviewed in an attempt to find factors influencing the
prognosis. Age, weight, preoperative hemodynamics, angiographic findings,
and the type of arch anomaly did not influence the outcome. The operation,
whether palliative or involving intracardiac repair, did not affect the
prognosis. The only factor related to the outcome was the size of the
conduit: in all infants who died, the vessel used to bridge the gap
(carotid or subclavian artery) was of narrow diameter. In the 3 patients
who survived it was of much larger bore. We conclude that in the repair of
interrupted aortic arch, an adequate conduit is essential for success.