OBJECTIVE: To compare immediate and late results in patients with or without fenestration who underwent cavopulmonary anastomosis so that we could assess the efficiency of the technique. METHODS: Sixty-two patients underwent surgery between 1988 and 1999, 41 with fenestration (group I -G I) and 21 without fenestration (group II -G II). Tricuspid atresia was prevalent in group I (23-56%) and single ventricle was prevalent in group II (14-66%). Mean ages at the time of operation were 7.3 years in group I and 7.6 in group II. At late follow-up, mean ages were 10.6 years in group I and 12.8 years in group II. RESULTS: Immediate and late mortality were 7.3% in G-I and 4.7% in G-II. Significant pleural effusion occurred in 41.4% of G-I patients and in 23.8% of G-II patients. Significant pericardial effusion occurred in 29.2% and 14.2%, respectively, in groups I and II. Central venous pressure was greater in G-II, 17.7 cm in H2O, as opposed to 15 cm in G-I. Hospital stay was similar between the groups, 26.3 and 21.8 days, respectively. Cyanosis and arterial insaturation occurred in 5 patients, and 4 patients were in functional class II, all from G-I. At late follow-up, 58 (93.5%) were in functional class I. Sinus rhythm was present in 94%, and pulmonary perfusion was similar in both groups. Eleven patients who underwent spirometry had good tolerance to physical effort. CONCLUSION: Atrial fenestration did not improve the immediate or late follow-up of patients who underwent cavopulmonary anastomosis, and is, therefore, dispensable.

In this report we describe the twelveth case in the literature of absence of the aortic valve cusps, associated with hypoplastic left-sided heart syndrome in a neonate. Clinical and hemodynamic conditions in our patient resemble the classical features of this syndrome except for a greater development of the ascending aorta and the left ventricular cavity, due to aortic insufficiency. A patch was unsuccessfully inserted at the aortic annulus to exclude the left ventricle from the circulation. In addition the Norwood operation was performed.

A ecodopplercardiografia ocupa posição de destaque no diagnóstico das valvopatias, pois fornece dados sobre a anatomia valvar, a área estenótica, os gradientes pressóricos e o grau da regurgitação. Seu uso na cirurgia cardíaca, com a abordagem epicárdica, é bastante conhecido. O advento da abordagem transesofágica, por não interferir no campo operatório, facilitou a sua utilização. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a utilidade da ETE nacirurgiada valva mitral. De julho de 1991 a janeiro de 1992, aecodopplercardiografia transesofágica (ETE) monitorizou 198 cirurgias, das quais 65 foram sobre a valva mitral (VM). A idade variou de 8 a 62 anos e 42 pacientes eram do sexo feminino. A comissurotomia e papilarotomia (CP) foi o procedimento mais freqüente em 28 pacientes (pts), seguido do implante de bioprótese (BP) em 24 e da plastia (PL) em 19. A ETE pré-operatória confirmou o diagnóstico da lesão mitral em todos os pts, tendo acrescentado informações quanto ao grau e direção da insuficiência mitral (IM) em 8 dos 28 pts submetidos a CP. Modificou a orientação da abordagem da valva tricúspide em 9 oportunidades (3 por diagnosticar lesões não detectadas e 6 por evitar a abordagem desnecessária por melhor avaliação da lesão. Quanto aos pts submetidos a implante de BP, 6 já tinham próteses disfuncionantes, em 12 pts a BP foi implantada de imediato por decisão do cirurgião e, em 6 pts, a BP foi implantada após a detecção da presença de IM importante pós-correção. Quanto ao pts submetidos a PL, 12 tinham prolapso, 6 tinham insuficiência coronária e 1 era pós-operatório tardio de correção de defeito do septo atrioventricular. Em apenas 1 pt foi necessária nova CEC para nova plastia. A avaliação da tM pós CEC evidenciou 7 pts (10%) com IM importante, sendo necessária nova CEC, e mostrou IM leve em 15 pts, moderada em 8 e importante em 1 onde não foi realizada nova CEC. A ETE é um método de grande valor no auxílio do planejamento cirúrgico nas doenças da VM, bem como na avaliação imediaata dos resultados operatórios possibilitando ao cirurgião uma adequada análise anatômica e funcional da estrutura abordada.

The usefulness of routine intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) for mitral valve (MV) surgery was studied in 65 patients (pts) with MV disease (mean age = 31 ± 14.8 to 62 yrs): 1 - Mitral regurgitation (MR): 19 pts-MV prolapse in 12 pts; Ischemic in 6 pts and post repair of ASD: 1 pt; 2 - Mitral stenosis (MS): 23 pts (4 of them with previous surgery); 3 - MS+MR and/or tricuspid valve (TV) lesions: 16 pts; 4 - Bioprosthetic valve (BV) dysfunction: 6 pts and 5 - Left atrial myxoma: 1 pt. Initial precardiopulmonary bypass TEE was used to confirm MV dysfunction, TV involvement and to assess LV function. On the 1 st run bypass (RBP), the MV commissurotomy was performed in 27 pts (23 with MS and 4 with MS+MR); the MV was replaced with BV (pericardial #21 to #29) in 18 pts (6 with BV dysfunction and 12 with MS+MR) and the MV repair was performed in all of 19 pts with MR). The 2nd RBP was required in 7 pts (11%): 1 pt with MR; 4 pts with MS+MR and 2 pts with MS. TEE caused changes in pre pump plans in 9 pts with TV lesions and in 10 pts with MS or MS+MR - preservation of native in 6 pts in which replacement was planned. Thus intraoperative TEE provides helpful information in MV surgery and can help avoid a mitral replacement in pts with MS or MS+MR.