The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 42, 45-51, Copyright © 1986 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Late right ventricular reconstruction following valvotomy in pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum
MT Metzdorff, CW Pinson, GL Grunkemeier, A Cobanoglu and A Starr
Experience over two decades in the surgical management of pulmonary atresia
with intact ventricular septum demonstrates that eventual right ventricular
(RV) reconstruction is possible in the majority of patients surviving
valvotomy in infancy. Ten of 17 operative survivors of early valvotomy have
eventually received a patch graft to the RV outflow tract, with no
reoperative deaths (mean follow-up, 7.4 years). RV systolic pressures,
suprasystemic prior to reoperation, are near normal after outflow patch
reconstruction. Serial cineangiograms show evidence of RV growth by
measurement of tricuspid annulus diameter (TAD), and demonstrate a rate of
growth [d(TAD)/d(body length)] greater than a normal rate derived from
autopsy data. The mean TAD growth rate is significantly greater than that
of patients with less favorable ventricle types treated with a
systemic-pulmonary shunt alone. Measurement of TAD is a useful method for
following RV growth, and may aid in selecting patients for RV
reconstruction.