Congenital heart defect corrective surgery

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Cardiac catheterization	Heart, front view	Heart, section through the middle	Patent ductus arteriosis (PDA) - series
Ultrasound, normal fetus - heartbeat	Ultrasound, normal fetus - heartbeat

Truncus arteriosus repair

• Truncus arteriosus is a rare condition that occurs when the aorta and the pulmonary artery arise from one common trunk. This very complex defect requires a complex surgical repair.
• If the baby is very sick, the repair is done in the first few months of life. If the baby is not so sick, surgeons wait to operate until the baby is between 9 and 15 months of age.
• The pulmonary arteries are separated from the aortic trunk and any defects are patched. There is always an associated VSD, which is patched. A conduit is then placed between the right ventricle and the pulmonary arteries.

Tricuspid atresia repair

• Tricuspid atresia is a condition in which the tricuspid valve (the valve between the upper and lower chambers on the right side of the heart) is severely narrowed. This condition severely restricts blood flow from the right side of the heart to the lungs.
• Other defects may exist with tricuspid atresia and can aid in the oxygenation of blood and flow to the lungs. A medication called prostaglandin E may be given to maintain a patent ductus arteriosus as an alternate channel to the lungs until corrective surgery can be performed.
• A series of shunts and surgeries may be necessary to correct this defect. The goal of this surgery is to join the right atrium or occasionally the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery.

Total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR) correction

• TAPVR is a condition in which the pulmonary veins bring oxygenated blood from the lungs back to the right side of the heart, rather than to the left side of the heart, where it should be.
• This condition requires surgical correction, the timing of which depends on how sick the baby is. The surgery may be done in the newborn period if the infant has severe symptoms. If not done immediately, it is done in the first six months of life.
• TAPVR repair is an open-heart procedure. The pulmonary veins are attached to the left atrium, where they belong, and any abnormal connections are closed.
• If a PDA is present, it is tied off.