Abnormal Origin of the Pulmonary Artery from the Ascending Aorta in the Neonate.

The anomalous origin of one pulmonary artery from the ascending aorta is a rare congenital heart disease, generally diagnosed based on the clinical information and on echocardiographic and computed tomography angiography findings. Here we report two neonates successfully treated with surgery early in life.

Impact of pulmonary artery reduction during arterial switch operation: 14 years follow-up.

Objectives: Pulmonary artery/aorta (PA/Ao) size discrepancy plays an important role in the development of neoaortic root growth and valve regurgitation. Since 2004, we started using PA reduction to manage severe great vessels root mismatch at the time of arterial switch operation. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of this technique in the mid- and long-term follow-up.

Fontan operation: a technique in evolution.

Objectives: Recent experimental flow studies based on angiography and magnetic resonance have shown that total cavopulmonary anastomosis (TCPA) is a valid concept for surgical treatment of many congenital heart defects, but there is not agreement of the best surgical arrangement. Our purpose is to analyze the immediate results with three different techniques of TCPA.

Methods: We sought to analyze retrospectively all TCPA realized from January 2005 to July 2008; there were 40 patients, all with previous Glenn anastomosis, with mean age of 6.

Surgical strategy in transposition of the great arteries with aortic arch obstruction.

Objective: To analyze our experience in the surgical correction of transposition of the great arteries associated with aortic arch obstruction.

Method: From January 1998 to December 2005 we performed 223 arterial switch operations for transposition of the great arteries; 21 (9.4%) patients had associated aortic arch obstruction.