Neonatal anatomical correction of transposition of the great arteries: Non-invasive assessment of haemodynamic function up to four years after operation

Abstract

Intracardiac and great artery blood flow velocities were recorded by pulsed and continuous wave Doppler ultrasound in 18 children aged between eight months and four years (mean 25 months) who had undergone anatomical correction of transposition of the great arteries in the first month of life. Postoperative peak flow velocities across the mitral valve and in the ascending aorta were not significantly different from those in an age matched control population, but tricuspid flow velocities were higher than normal. Aortic regurgitation was detected in only one of the eighteen patients, a markedly lower frequency than that reported after two stage anatomical correction. Peak volocities in the pulmonary artery were higher than normal, and in most cases there was some degree of stenosis of the pulmonary artery at the site of anastomosis.