title: Surgical treatment of the aortic coarctation: three-decade experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To make a 30-year review of the immediate results of coarctation of the aorta (CoAo) operation, between 1974 and 2004. All the patients underwent CoAo whether in isolation or associated with other congenital defects.
  
  
  METHODS
  The following data was investigated: age at the time of surgery, gender, associated lesions, and type of surgical technique, and immediate surgical outcome, particularly focusing the presence of systemic arterial hypertension.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred and four patients underwent CoAo. Of the 104 enrolled patients, 75 (72%) were pediatric patients and 29 (28%) adults patients. In the pediatric group, 23 (22%) were considered neonates, 17 (16%) infants, and 35 (34%) children. The associated defects were present in 66 (63.5%) patients, 54 (51.9%) in the pediatric group and 12 (11.3%) in the adult group. Seven (6.7%) deaths were observed in the immediate postoperative period. Among the various surgical techniques employed, aortoplasty was used in 80 patients (76.9%); end-to-end anastomosis in 15 (14.4%); Teles technique in seven (6.7%), Waldhausen technique in one (1%), and it was not possible to identify the technique in one patient (1%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the limitations of the present study, it may be noted that the results were good with the corrective surgery being performed safely and with a low mortality rate. Medium- and long-term follow-up was impaired by the well-known structural deficiencies in Brazil.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitário Oswaldo Cruz, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas/UPE, Recife - Pernambuco, Brasil. alline@gmail.com
authors.forename: Alline de Souza Alves
authors.initials: Ade S
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Breno Barbosa de Siqueira
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Carneiro
authors.forename: Ricardo de Carvalho
authors.initials: Rde C
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.forename: Catarina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cavalcanti
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Villachan
authors.forename: Nadja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Arraes
authors.forename: Ricardo de Albuquerque
authors.initials: Rde A
authors.lastname: Lins
authors.forename: Mozart
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Escobar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001017:Aortic Coarctation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D001938:Brazil; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors