Critical aortic coarctation: patch aortoplasty in infants less than age 3 months.

Twenty-three infants less than age 3 months (mean age 31 days) underwent patch aortoplasty for relief of coarctation of the aorta. All had intractable congestive heart failure, despite aggressive medical therapy. Each infant had other cardiac anomalies, including patent ductus arteriosus (83 percent) and ventricular septal defect (74 percent). All patients underwent closure of the ductus arteriosus and patch angioplasty of the aorta to produce a luminal diameter of at least 16 mm. In addition, 9 of the 17 patients (53 percent) with a large shunt ventricular septal defect underwent pulmonary arterial banding. There was one hospital death 42 days after operation secondary to bowel perforation and sepsis. Hospitalization beyond 21 days postoperatively was always due to other unrepaired cardiac lesions. The three late deaths at 3, 9 and 18 months after operation were associated with additional major anomalies. Fourteen patients have had postoperative catheterization. No gradient was found across the site of coarctation repair, but one patient had a gradient between the left carotid and left subclavian arteries. Surgical repair of critical coarctation of the aorta in infants can safely be offered despite the presence of other cardiac anomalies.