Late events following repair of aortic coarctation with resection and end-to-end anastomosis: a twenty-five-year experience.

From November 24, 1964 through July 3, 1979, 81 patients underwent coarctation repair with resection and end-to-end anastomosis. Mean age at operation was 13.4 years, with a range of 4 months to 55 years. Thirty-two patients (39%) had associated cardiac defects. There were no hospital deaths. Eighty of the 81 hospital survivors were followed (99%) for a total of 10,780 months postoperatively, at a mean of 134.6 (+/- 7.1) months. There was one late death (1.3%) of a ruptured berry aneurysm at 120 months after repair. Actuarial survival was 100% at 10 years and 92.9 +/- 7% at 20 years. Five patients (6.3%) required late re-repair at a mean of 142.8 months postoperatively, range 85 months to 195 months. Actuarial freedom from reoperation was 97 +/- 2.0% at 5 years and 91.7 +/- 3.6% at 20 years. Earlier age at initial repair (P = 0.002), higher mean transrepair gradient (P = 0.005), and late hypertension (P = 0.08) were associated with re-coarctation. The hazard function for reoperation according to age at initial repair revealed a single early risk phase with a plateau starting at 7 years of age and zero hazard after 10 years of age. We conclude that correction of coarctation of the aorta using resection and end-to-end anastomosis permits a long history of event-free survival and continues to be an excellent method of repair.