Results of intraventricular baffle procedure for ventricular septal defect and double outlet right ventricle or d-transposition of the great arteries.

Thirty patients with ventricular septal defect and d-transposition of the great arteries or double outlet right ventricle underwent placement of an intraventricular baffle to achieve physiologic correction. Eighteen of these patients also required an external conduit to establish continuity between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery. There was an overall 22 percent early mortality rate, although the rate was 63 percent in patients who weighed less than 10 kg. There was an additional 20 percent late mortality rate, primarily related to conduction disturbances and pulmonary vascular obstructive disease, problems that have not occurred in patients operated on since 1974. Of the survivors, all are asymptomatic and as a group have achieved a significant weight gain. Many have residual hemodynamic abnormalities that required cardiac catheterization for precise assessment. Four patients have been reoperated on, with no additional mortality.