Late follow-up after resection of aortic coarctation.

Out of 121 patients who underwent resection of aortic coarctation followed by end-to-end anastomoses at an age of less than 3 years at the time of surgery, 30 patients were studied. The mean duration of follow-up was 22 years, ranging from 15 to 34 years. Eight of the patients were younger than 26 weeks at the time of operation. All 30 patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), digital subtraction angiography (DSA), and bicycle exercise testing. MRI and DSA showed some degree of stenosis in 23 patients. Eighteen of these 23 patients showed a post-exercise blood pressure gradient between right arm and leg. Hypertension, if found, did not correlate with age at the time of operation. Eleven patients showed aortic or mitral valve abnormality not diagnosed at the time of repair of the coarctation. Exercise tolerance did not correlate with the presence of restenosis.