title: Surgical treatment of 52 patients with congenital coronary artery fistulas.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the outcome of surgical treatment for congenital coronary artery fistulas (CAF) in 52 patients seen between May 1988 and July 1999.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-two patients ranging in age from 9 months 58 years (mean 15.7 +/- 16.4 years) were studied. Thirty-six patients had no other cardiac defects, 9 of those patients were more than 20 years old and presented with symptoms. Only one of 36 patients less than 20 years old had clinical findings before surgery. Sixteen patients had associated cardiac lesions. The site of fistula origin was the right coronary artery in 37 patients (71.2%), and the left coronary artery in 15 patients (28.8%). The sites of CAF drainage were the right ventricle, right atrium, left ventricle, left atrium and pulmonary artery in 22 (42.3%), 16 (30.8%), 6 (11.5%), 3 (5.8%), and 5 (9.6%) patients, respectively. The mean diameter of the fistula in 43 patients with single ostium was 7.34 +/- 4.12 mm.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cardiopulmonary bypass was used in all patients and no patient died. An arteriotomy was made on the anomalous coronary artery and the proximal opening of a fistula was closed within the vessel in 10 patients. Closure of the distal opening of a fistula draining into a cardiac chamber or pulmonary artery was performed in 26 patients. In 16 patients, both the proximal and distal opening were closed. Two and 3 distal opening of a fistula were found in 6 and 3 patients, respectively. No residual shunt was found before patients were discharged from the hospital. Forty patients were followed up for a mean period of 3.14 +/- 1.84 years. The remaining 12 patients could not be contacted during follow-up. No clinical symptoms were found in those patients during follow-up but one patient still presented with ST-T change.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Early and properly surgical management is safe and effective for congenital coronary fistula.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Surgery, Fu Wai Hospital, Cardiovascular Institute, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100037, China. wangsy@mx.cei.gov.cn
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005402:Fistula / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged