Ventricular septal defect associated with aortic regurgitation

Aortic valve repair in patients with ventricular septal defect

BACKGROUND

The aim of the study is to evaluate early and late clinical outcomes of patients undergoing the aortic valve repair in patients associated with ventricular septal defect and to analyze whether age is a risk factor predicting repair failure.

METHODS

All patients who were underwent aortic valve repair with concomitant ventricular septal defect closure from 2006 to 2018 were included and divided into two groups: less than 10 years (Group 1) and more than or equal to 10 years (Group 2).

RESULTS

About 159 patients were included (Group 1 = 92; Group 2 = 67). Overall median age was 8 years, 70% were males. The most common ventricular septal defect was perimembranous in both groups. Two patients in Group 2 had to undergo aortic valve replacement subsequently which resulted in early mortality. Univariable analysis showed prolonged ventilation (p < .001), postoperative intensive care unit stay (p = .019) as significant factors for early mortality. Estimated survival was 97.6% ± 2.4 at the end of 5 years and 10 years in Group 1 and 93.6% ± 3.6 in Group 2. Freedom from residual aortic regurgitation more than or equal to moderate at 5 years and 10 years was 85.6% ± 4.9 and 55% ± 13.8 in Group 1 and 76.9% ± 6.7 and 47.4% ± 12.2 in Group 2, however, it was not significant (p = . .084).

CONCLUSION

The aortic valve repair in patients with ventricular septal defect provides satisfactory early and late results in terms of mortality and need for reintervention in all age groups.

Evaluation of Ventricular Septal Defect with Special Reference to the Spontaneous Closure Rate, Subaortic Ridge, and Aortic Valve Prolapse II

The medical records of 2283 patients with ventricular septal defect (VSD) were reviewed to determine spontaneous closure, left ventricular-to-right atrial shunt, subaortic ridge, and aortic valve prolapse. One thousand eight hundred and twenty-three patients had been followed 1 month to 26 years (median 4 years) by echocardiography. Most of 460 patients could not be followed due to transportation of the institution. VSD was perimembranous in 68.8% (1255), trabecular muscular in 21.7% (395), muscular outlet in 6% (109), muscular inlet in 2.6% (48), and doubly committed subarterial in 0.9% (16). Defect size was classified in 66.8% (1218) as small, in 15.7% (286) as moderate, and in 17.5% (319) as large. VSD closed spontaneously in 18.8% (343 of 1823 patients) by ages 40 days to 24.9 years (median, 1.8 years). One hundred fifty-seven of 1255 perimembranous defects (12.5%) and 167 of 395 trabecular muscular defects (42%) closed spontaneously (p < 0.001). Defect size became small in 306 (16.8%) of patients with VSD at a median of 2.5 years. Aneurysmal transformation was detected in 32.9% (600), left ventricular-to-right atrial shunt in 9.7% (176), subaortic ridge in 2.6% (48) of 1823 patients who were followed. In 381 (20.9%) of the 1823 patients, the VSD had been closed by a surgical or transcatheter technique. Surgery is required in one-fifth of patients with subaortic ridge or aortic valve prolapse. In conclusion, isolated VSDs are usually benign abnormalities that tend to shrink and close spontaneously.

Aortic valvar involvement in patients undergoing closure of ventricular septal defect via the pulmonary trunk

BACKGROUND

To determine how often the aortic valve is involved in doubly-committed ventricular septal defect in a surgical series, and when to intervene to minimize aortic valvar impediments.

METHODS

The defect was surgically closed in 415 patients via the pulmonary trunk, age at operation ranging from 2 months to 76 years old. In infants, pulmonary hypertension or pulmonary high flow was the exclusive indication. Any progressive deformity of the aortic leaflet or aortic regurgitation was an alternative principal indication in older children or adolescents. No additional manoeuvres were employed for the aortic root unless aortic regurgitation is more than slight. Otherwise, the aortic valve was repaired or replaced. When the sinus of Valsalva was significantly deformed or ruptured, the structure was surgically restored.

RESULTS

Significant aortic regurgitation or the ruptured sinus of Valsalva was increasingly found beyond the paediatric age. Bacterial endocarditis was seen in 8% of adults or adolescents. Silent herniation of the aortic leaflet was not uncommon after 4 years old, seen in more than 40% of patients. Need of aortic valvar repair was rare before 2 years old, and in approximately 10% between 2 and 15 years old. Freedom from reoperation was 89% at 10 years and 78% at 25 years after aortic valvar repair, and 91% and 84%, respectively, after replacement, versus 100% and 99.4%, respectively, after no additional valvar procedure.

CONCLUSION

Aortic valvar involvement was rare, and ventricular septal defect was closed without impediments, before 2 years old. Surgery should be arranged before any additional aortic valvar manoeuvre is needed.

Infundibular septal defect with severe aortic regurgitation: a new surgical approach

Aortic regurgitation associated with prolapse of an aortic cusp and an infundibular septal defect is caused by the lack of anatomical support for the aortic annulus by the conal septum. This fact is taken into consideration in the new surgical approach that we performed in 5 children 3 to 16 years of age with infundibular ventricular septal defect and severe aortic regurgitation. The ventricular septal defect is closed by a patch anchored to another patch through the prolapsed cusp. This second patch is pulled up with the prolapsed cusp and is then fixed in the aortic wall. In all 5 patients, all clinical signs of aortic insufficiency disappeared, and only minimal aortic regurgitation could be demonstrated by color Doppler mapping.

Management of ventricular septal defect with associated aortic incompetence

Twenty-two patients with a ventricular septal defect and aortic incompetence underwent surgical repair. Mean age was 9.6 years (range, 9 to 15 years). Mean follow-up was 32.4 +/- 15.8 months. The ventricular septal defect was perimembranous in 19 patients and doubly committed or juxtaarterial in 3. Most showed only a small left-to-right shunt. Mean diameter was 11.9 +/- 4.8 mm. Aortic incompetence was mild in 6 patients, moderate in 4, and severe in 12. In 16 patients closure of the ventricular septal defect and aortic valvoplasty were both performed through the aortic root. There were no deaths. All patients retained normal sinus rhythm. No complete heart block was found. In 3 patients secondary aortic valve replacement was required for severe incompetence; in 1 the cause was bacterial endocarditis, in another technical failure, and in a third progressive incompetence over an 8-month period. All patients showed substantial clinical improvement, marked decrease or disappearance of the valvar incompetence, diminution of the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, and decreased cardiothoracic ratio. We conclude that primary repair is the operation of choice for this combination of lesions. This can avoid or delay considerably valvar replacement. The left-sided approach proves safe and is our preferred technique.

Long follow-up (to 43 years) of ventricular septal defect with audible aortic regurgitation

From 1946 to March 1989, 92 patients (33 women and 59 men) were seen with ventricular septal defect (VSD) and audible aortic regurgitation (AR). The VSD was subcristal in 62 patients, subpulmonary in 21 and unknown in the remaining 9. The median age of onset of AR was 5.3 years. The risk of developing AR was 2.5 times greater in those with a subpulmonary VSD. The aortic valve was tricuspid in 90% and bicuspid in 10%. Prolapse was seen in 90% of those with subcristal VSD and in all with subpulmonary VSD. Pulmonary stenosis was seen in 46% of the patients with gradients ranging from 10 to 55 mm Hg. The incidence of infective endocarditis was 15 episodes/1,000 patient years. Among 20 patients followed medically, for 297 patient years, 1 died (1959) and most have been stable, including 2 followed for greater than 30 years. In the 72 patients operated on, there were 15 perioperative and 5 late deaths. Operations consisted of VSD closure alone in 7, VSD closure and valvuloplasty in 50 and VSD closure and aortic valve replacement in the other 15. Valvuloplasty was more effective in those operated on under age 10 compared to those older than 15 years (46 vs 14%). The durability of the valvuloplasty was 76% at 12 years and 51% at 18 years.

Surgical treatment of supracristal type of ventricular septal defect

Surgically treated ventricular septal defect (VSD) was of supracristal type in 120 of 389 Chinese patients; 93 of the 120 were younger than 15 years. Concomitant aortic anomalies were present in 58 of the patients (regurgitation in 23 and cusp prolapse in 35). Corresponding figures among the 93 patients of the under-15 group were 40 (9 + 31). Direct suture or patch closure of the supracristal VSD and replacement or plication of anomalous aortic valves were the methods used. The results of direct closure were equal to those of patch closure. One patient died of subacute bacterial endocarditis, which had been present preoperatively. There were no other deaths. The postoperative observation period was 6 months to 7 years. As the incidence of associated valvulopathy increases with patient age, early operation for supracristal VSD, regardless of shunt volume, is advocated.