[The Senning operation for correction of transposition of the great arteries (author's transl)].

The reported incidence of the main complications related to the Mustard operation for correction of transposition of the great arteries seems to be quite high: more than half patients develop arrhythmias and about one third develop venous (pulmonary or sistemic) obstructions. For these reasons we have reconsidered the type I (1959) Senning operation. Ten children below two years of age (body weight ranging from 3.9 to 12 Kg) have been operated on with this technique at our Institution. Nine were D-TGA and one L-TGA. One patient had a small VSD and three had mild pulmonary outflow stenosis (p less than 30 mmHg). All patients survived operation and none suffered from complications. At the time of the discharge from the Hospital all were in sinus rhythm. Late evaluation (24 hours EKG, cardiac catheterization, etc.) is in course. We believe that the Senning operation is easier to perform than the Mustard operation because of its more standardized technique which respects the internal geometry of the heart. Additional advantages are: 1) the intra-atrial conducting pathways are less likely to be damaged; 2) there is a minimal or no need for artificial tissues.