Abstract
We have experienced 44 cases of coarctation of aorta in the age of infancy and children from April 1986 to September 1989 at Seoul National University Children`s hospital. Patients were thirty males and fourteen females, and their age ranged from one month to ten years[mean 23.84 $\pm$33.06 months] with thirty-two infant cases. In the infantile age, congestive heart failure was the most common chief complaint[18/32], and above that age, frequent upper respiratory infection was most common[8/12]. We experienced thirteen cases of isolated COA, twenty-two cases of COA with VSD, eight cases of COA with VSD, eight cases of COA with intracardiac complex anomalies and one case of COA with atrial septal defect. The associated intracardiac complex anomalies were three Taussig-Bing type double outlet right ventricle, one single ventricle, one transposition of great arteries, one atrioventricular septal defect, one hypoplastic aortic arch with left heart hypoplasia, and one Tetralogy of Fallot. Operative techniques of COA were twenty-three subclavian flap arterioplasty, 12 resection and end to end anastomosis, eight onlay patch angioplasty, and I direct angioplasty after resection of web. Among the cases with other cardiac anomalies, staged operation was done in twenty-nine patients, and single stage total correction was performed only in three patients. There were seven operative mortality[15.9%], all being in infantile age group, and among fourteen cases associated with large VSD[Qp/Qs>2.0, mean pulmonary arterial pressure>50mmHg], four patients were died, but there was no mortality in patients with small VSD. With above results, we are intended to discuss about the interval between staged operation, the fate of VSD after coarctoplasty in case of COA with VSD, causes of death, complications etc.