title: [Total anomalous pulmonary venous return in children: importance of echocardiographic diagnosis and early surgery].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We studied patients who underwent surgical repair for total anomalous pulmonary venous return at our hospital. We report the importance of diagnosis by echocardiographic imaging before surgical treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Within the period of 1990-1999, fourteen patients underwent surgical repair of this cardiopathy in our hospital. The type of anomalous drainage was supracardiac in 6 patients, infracardiac in 4, to the coronary sinus in 1, and mixed-type in 3 patients. Eleven cases were diagnosed with an echo-Doppler study, the findings being confirmed intraoperatively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 2 early deaths: one occurred in the operating room in a patient with a small left ventricle, and the second one was 35 days postoperatively as a result of a septic complication. Early in the postoperative period our primary goal has steadily been the control and treatment of pulmonary hypertension. After a mean follow-up time of 50 months, only 1 patient needed to be reoperated on and the remainder are symptomless.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  That sufficient diagnostic data on total anomalous pulmonary venous return can reliably be obtained by ultrasound scanning so that surgery can be promptly undertaken, and that its surgical risk is currently low and mid-term post-repair outcome is fairly good.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Cardiología Pediátrica, Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona. dalbert.hmi@cs.vhebron.es
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Albert
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Girona
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bonjoch
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Balcells
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Casaldàliga
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Miró
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murtra
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011652:Pulmonary Circulation; D013997:Time Factors; D014463:Ultrasonography