Tetralogy of fallot surgical techniques
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Associate Editors-In-Chief: Keri Shafer, M.D. [2], Priyamvada Singh, MBBS
Palliative surgery
The condition was initially thought untreatable until surgeon Alfred Blalock, cardiologist Helen B. Taussig, and lab assistant Vivien Thomas at Johns Hopkins University developed a surgical procedure, which involved forming an anastomosis between the subclavian artery and the pulmonary artery. It was actually Helen Taussig who convinced Alfred Blalock that the shunt was going to work. This redirected a large portion of the partially oxygenated blood leaving the heart for the body into the lungs, increasing flow through the pulmonary circuit, and greatly relieving symptoms in patients. The first Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt surgery was performed on 15-month old Eileen Saxon on November 29, 1944 with dramatic results.
The Pott shunt and the Waterson procedure are other shunt procedures which were developed for the same purpose.
Currently, Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunts are not normally performed on infants with TOF except for severe variants such as TOF with pulmonary atresia.
Total surgical repair
The Blalock-Taussig procedure was the only surgical treatment until the first total repair was performed in 1954. Between 1944 and when total repair became available at major surgical centers in the early 1960s, many infants and children were treated with Blalock-Taussig procedures.
The total repair was performed by C. Walton Lillehei at the University of Minnesota in 1954 on a 10-month boy. Total repair initially carried a high mortality risk which has consistently improved over the years. Surgery is now often carried out in infants 1 year of age or younger with a <5% perioperative mortality. The surgery generally involves making incisions into the heart muscle, relieving the right ventricular outflow tract stenosis by careful resection of muscle, and repairing the VSD using a Gore-Tex or Dacron patch or a homograft. Additional reparative or reconstructive work may be done on patients as required by their particular anatomy.
Patients who have undergone "total" repair of tetralogy of Fallot often have good to excellent cardiac function after the operation with some to no exercise intolerance and have the potential to lead normal lives. Surgical success and long-term outcome greatly depends on the particular anatomy of the patient and the surgeon's skill and experience with this type of repair.
See also
- Trilogy of Fallot
- Pentalogy of Fallot
References
External links
- Tetralogy of Fallot information from Seattle Children's Hospital Heart Center
- Information by University of Michigan Health System
- Diagram of the condition
- Information for adults with ToF from the Adult Congenital Heart Association
- Michael Warman's Website on ToF
de:Fallot-Tetralogie it:Tetralogia di Fallot nl:Tetralogie van Fallot nn:Fallots tetrade uk:Тетрада Фалло