Tetralogy of fallot and total surgical correction

Abstract

There is still no consensus on the age and surgical method to be preferred for total correction in Fallot Tetralogy. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the results of patients who underwent total correction surgery at a relatively early age with classic transventricular method. Following the diagnosis of Fallot Tetralogy, surgery was conducted on 54 patients from January 1984 to June 1994 and on 59 patients from July 1994 to September 2003 in the Cardiovascular Surgery Clinic. A total of 113 patients were retrospectively reviewed for the evaluation of surgical methods, age distribution and post-operative clinic outlooks. Hospiatal mortality was 8.84 % (10 patients) among 113 patients on whom total correction had been conducted. The follow-up procedures conducted in the late post-operative period (3-12 years) revealed that, of the 113 patients, 81 patients (78.64 %) had NYHA Class I, 16 patients (15.53 %) had Class II and 6 patients (5.83 %) had NYHA Class III functional cpacity. Late period mortality was 2.91 % (3 patients). The age of total correction for patients of Fallot Tetralogy has been decreasing recently. Today, in many clinics, total correction surgery, instead of palliative shunt operation, is being conducted in order to prevent exposure of the organism to persistent hypoxemia in the early period. To this end, there are several surgical methods (transventricular/transatrial) to choose. As we emphasize in this study, patients can have an almost normal life expectancy thanks to the transventricular method and transannular patch (if required) both of which have been routinely conducted in our clinic.