Successful extracardiac total cavo pulmonary connection (TCPC) after external tracheobronchial stenting for tracheobronchomalacia.
OBJECTIVE
A girl who was diagnosed with cyanotic congenital heart disease in a newborn, showed anoxic spell attacks which we thought were correlated with the congenital heart disease. Although she underwent the palliative operation at 8 months old and her SpO2 was increased, she experienced severe and life-threatening respiratory dysfunction many times after that. After careful examinations, the respiratory complaint was proved to be not only due to cyanotic congenital heart disease but also tracheobronchomalacia.


METHODS
She had undergone the external stenting to the trachea and right bronchus at 1 year old. After that, she was examined by cardiac catheterization and the Fontan-type operation was successful using a tissue-engineered graft at 2 years old.


RESULTS
Her post-operative course was uneventful and she was discharged.


CONCLUSIONS
It is very important to remember the possible existence of tracheobronchomalacia and prevent a life-threatening attack when congenital cardiac patients experience a prolonged respiratory failure or abnormal respiration.
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The Heart Institute of Japan, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8666, Japan. berry@mui.biglobe.ne.jp
Shizuko
S
Iwasa
Toshiharu
T
Shin'oka
Takahiko
T
Sakamoto
Yuzo
Y
Nagase
Hisaya
H
Hasegawa
Hiromi
H
Kurosawa