Outcome of Biventricular Repair in Infants With Multiple Left Heart Obstructive Lesions

• Published in: Pediatric cardiology 2012-04, Vol.33 (4), p.506-512
• Main Authors: Cavigelli-Brunner, Anna, Bauersfeld, Urs, Prêtre, René, Kretschmar, Oliver, Oxenius, Angela, Valsangiacomo Buechel, Emanuela R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Cardiac Surgery; Cardiac Surgical Procedures - methods; Cardiology; Cardiovascular agents; Echocardiography; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Health aspects; Heart; Heart Ventricles - diagnostic imaging; Heart Ventricles - physiopathology; Heart Ventricles - surgery; Humans; Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome - mortality; Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome - physiopathology; Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome - surgery; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infants; Male; Medical research; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Medicine, Experimental; Mortality; Original Article; Pulmonary hypertension; Retrospective Studies; Survival Rate - trends; Switzerland - epidemiology; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome; Vascular Surgery
• ISSN: 0172-0643; 1432-1971
• DOI: 10.1007/s00246-011-0142-2

The decision to perform biventricular repair for infants with multiple obstructive or hypoplastic left heart lesions (LHL) and borderline left ventricle (LV) may be controversial. This study sought to assess the mortality and morbidity of patients with LHL after biventricular repair and to determine the growth of the left-sided cardiac structures. Retrospective analysis of 39 consecutive infants with LHL who underwent biventricular repair was performed. The median age at surgery was 7 days (range 1–225 days), and the median follow-up period was 34 months (range 1–177 months). Between diagnosis and the end of the follow-up period, the size of the aortic annulus ( z -score −4.1 ± 2.8 vs. −0.1 ± 2.7) and the LV (LV end-diastolic diameter z -score −1.7 ± 2.8 vs. 0.21 ± 1.7) normalized. During the follow-up period, 23 patients required 39 reinterventions (62%) consisting of redo surgery for 21 patients (57%) and catheter-guided reinterventions for 8 patients (22%). At the end of the follow-up period, 25 of 34 patients were doing subjectively well; 10 children (29%) received cardiac medication; 12 (35%) presented with failure to thrive (weight ≤ P3) and 5 (15%) with pulmonary hypertension. The overall mortality rate was 13%. Biventricular repair for patients with multiple LHL results in sufficient growth of the left-sided cardiac structures. Nevertheless, residual or newly developing obstructive lesions and pulmonary hypertension are frequent, causing significant morbidity that requires reintervention.