A Review of Total Correction in 200 Cases of Tetralogy of Fallot

Abstract

This study was undertaken to review the experience at the University Health Center of Pittsburgh with total correction of tetralogy of Fallot. We were particularly interested in the effect on mortality and long-term results of a previous shunt procedure, the use of an outflow tract patch, and the age of the patient at the time of correction. Materials and Methods The case histories of 200 patients with tetralogy of Fallot form the basis of this study. The patients were operated upon during the period from July 1959 to July 1968. One-hundred and thirty of 174 surviving patients (75%) have been followed for one year or more, and recatheterization was performed on 40 (31%) of those followed. With few exceptions a median sternotomy was used. A disk oxygenator was used for the first 39 cases, but since 1963 cardiopulmonary bypass has been accomplished with a vertical screen oxygenator and roller pump.