Experience with the surgical treatment of coarctation of the aorta in India.

Between 1961 and 1977, 51 patients underwent operations for coarctation of the aorta. The average age of presentation of these cases was higher than in other series. Only three were asymptomatic, a finding which is not seen in reports from the West. Operative procedures included resection and graft interposition, resection and end-to-end anastomosis, and bypass grafting. However, the technique of patch angioplasty, routinely performed in the last three years of this review, seemed by far the most satisfactory procedure. The overall operative mortality was 9.8%. Hypertension did not regress in some cases in spite of a successful operation. Recoarctation was not seen in this series. Associated defects influenced results adversely. The overall results of operation for coarctation of the aorta have been very satisfactory and comparable with those in other recorded series.