Surgical correction of complete atrioventricular septal defect in infants

Objective To summarize the clinical experience of surgical treatment for complete atrioventricular septal defect in infants.Methods From December 2013 to June 2004,56 patients aged from 53 days to 12 months with complete atrioventricular septal defect were undergone operations.All patients were diagnosed by 2D-echocardiography,and 18 patients underwent cardiovascular computed angiography (CTA).Rastelli type A had 44 cases,type B 3 cases,and type C 9 cases.The single pericardium patch repair was used for 37 cases,the two-patch repair for 3 cases,and the modified single-patch repair for 16 cases.The time of mechanical ventilation was 26 to 172 hours,and the time of staying at Intensive Care Unit (ICU) was 3 to 19 days.Results There were 5 early deaths caused by severe low cardiac output in 2 cases,renal failure in 2 cases,and severe pulmonary inflammation in 1 case.One late death was due to severe mitral regurgitation with pneumonia and heart failure.The operative mortality was 10.7％.A total of 47 patients was followed-up for 3 months to 5 years after surgery and their heart function was satisfactory.Conclusions The operation should be done between 6 months and 1 year when the diagnosis of complete atrioventricular septal defect (CAVSD) is clear.Its early surgical intervention is satisfactory.The result of surgical treatment for CAVSD depends on both probing intracardiac anatomy carefully and complete correction of associated cardiac abnormalities. Key words: Heart septal defects/surgery;  Mitral valve insufficiency;  Infant