Management of complications after operation for tetralogy of Fallot on infants and follow-up of one year

Abstract

Objective To review the early postoperative complications and its treatment in infants with tetralogy of Fallot(TOF).Methods From January 2004 to March 2007,35 infant patients with TOF,aged 4 to 12 months,underwent corrective procedure with hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass(CPB) and general anaesthesia in Anhui provincial children's hospital.Of all the patients,30 cases received radical surgery and the other 5 cases with initial palliation.Results The early postoperative complications occurred in 10 cases,of which 6 cases comlplicated with low cardiac output,2 cases had severe arrhythmia,2 cases manifested as perfusion lung,2 cases were symptomized by residual right ventricular outflow tract(RVOT) obstruction and 1 case suffered from residual ventricular septal defect(VSD).There were 3 cases of early postoperative death with 8.6% of hospital mortality.Conclusion The operative mortality can be effectively reduced by careful preparations for surgery,reliable surgical procedure,effective myocardial protection and timely treatment for postoperative complications.This study demonstrated that repair of TOF in infancy can be done with excellent results. Key words: Tetralogy of Fallot; Infants; Postoperative complications; Follow-up