Complete transposition of the great vessels in infancy with reference to palliative surgery.

Abstract

During the years 1960-63 inclusive, 53 infants with complete transposition of the great vessels were seen at the Royal Children''s Hospital, Melbourne. Of these infants, 36 were investigated by venous angiocardiography or by cardiac catheterization with selective angiocardiography. An attempt was made to create an atrial sep-tal defect in 30 infants, either under direct vision during inflow occlusion or by the technique of Blalock and Hanlon. There were 11 operative deaths and 15 infants appeared to be improved by the procedure. Of these improved survivors, 13 patients have been followed for up to 4 years with 1 death following an attempt at complete repair. The degree of improvement varied but most infants could be classified as having had good functional results. There is as yet insufficient evidence to gauge the likelihood of rising pulmonary vascular resistance in survivors. "Various aspects of complete transposition of the great vessels in infancy are discussed in relation to the present series of cases.