Late presenters with dextro-transposition of great arteries and intact ventricular septum: to train or not to train the left ventricle for arterial switch operation?

Objective: We report our experience in managing late presenters (older than 4 weeks) with dextro-transposition of great arteries and intact ventricular septum (d-TGA/IVS) in an effort to achieve successful arterial switch operation (ASO) in a third world setting.

Design: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of all late presenters with d-TGA/IVS. Patients were divided into two groups: left ventricular training (LVT) group and non-left ventricular training (non-LVT) group.