title: Right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction in patients with persistent truncus arteriosus: a 15-year experience in a single Japanese center.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The present study analyzes a 15-year experience of repairing persistent truncus arteriosus (PTA) with a consistent policy of right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) reconstruction (ie, direct anastomosis).
  
  
  RESULTS
  This retrospective study included 13 consecutive patients with PTA (8 type I PTA, 5 type II) who underwent primary repair from September 1992 to December 2006. Median age and body weight at surgery were 21 days and 2.9 kg, respectively. All but 1 patient underwent RVOT reconstruction by direct anastomosis with a monocusp patch. There were 2 operative deaths (12%). No patient had a pulmonary hypertensive crisis. The median duration of ventilation was 5 days. Another patient died from cardiogenic shock resulting from late cardiac tamponade 2 months after surgery. Four patients (40%) required balloon angioplasty and 5 (50%) required re-operation for branch pulmonary artery and/or conduit obstruction during the median follow-up period of 70 months (44-174 months). Freedom from all re-interventions and re-operation at 5 years was 50% (95% confidence limits, 19-81%) and 60% (95% confidence limits, 30-91%), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Reasonable early and long-term results can be achieved with direct anastomosis. Further reduction of the re-intervention rate could be attained by refining the surgical techniques and catheter intervention strategies.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada. osami.honjo@sickkids.ca
authors.forename: Osami
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Honjo
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kotani
authors.forename: Teiji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akagi
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Osaki
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawada
authors.forename: Kozo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishino
authors.forename: Shunji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sano
mesh_terms: D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000379:methods; D013504:Cardiovascular Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007564:Japan; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D012086:Reoperation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014339:Truncus Arteriosus, Persistent / Q000601:surgery*