Cardiopulmonary bypass in the presence of uncorrected coarctation.

We performed correction of intracardiac lesions in 10 patients with coarctation. All cardiovascular lesions were corrected except coarctation. Six patients had a large left-to-right shunt though a ventricular septal defect (VSD), two patients had left ventricular outflow obstruction, two patients had mitral insufficiency, and one patient had mitral stenosis. Arterial perfusion was through the ascending aorta. Urine output was 6.0 +/- 1.5 cc/kg/hr during cardiopulmonary bypass. There was no morbidity related to cardiopulmonary bypass or inadequate perfusion of the lower body, and left ventricular failure did not occur. One patient with Taussig-Bing abnormality and pulmonary vascular disease died postoperatively of right ventricular failure. Intracardiac repair with aortic perfusion in the presence of coarctation is a safe alternative to coarctation repair or combined procedures.