Abstract
Objective. Two-dimensional, Doppler and color-flow echocardiography is accepted as a safe diagnostic tool to guide the surgical treatment of certain congenital heart defects. Its role for surgical indication in patients with complete atrioventricular canal (cAVC) is described in this paper. Methods. Between July 1989 and January 1995, 80 patients with cAVC underwent primary repair in our Institution. In 73 surgery was guided only by echocardiography (Group I), while in the remaining 7 patients (Group II) cardiac catheterization was performed because of unclear diagnosis and/or suspected associated malformations. Results. Echoeardiography showed an overall sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 93% in detecting associated malformations. Discussion. Based on these data and on the knowledge of the natural history of pulmonary vascular changes in patients with cAVC we think that echocardiography might be adequate for selection of infants with uncomplicated forms of cAVC for primary repair.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 439-442 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | European Journal of Cardio-thoracic Surgery |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 6 |
Publication status | Published - 1996 |
Keywords
- Complete atrioventricular canal
- Echo-guided pediatric cardiac surgery
- Echocardiography
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
- Surgery
- Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine