Management of transposition of the great arteries with single coronary artery.

Approximately 5% of patients with transposition of the great arteries have a single coronary artery. In the early years of the arterial switch procedure a single coronary artery was associated with an increased risk of mortality. This was particularly true for the most common type of single coronary artery in which there is a right posterior ostium giving rise to a right coronary artery that passes to the right atrioventricular groove and a left coronary artery that passes posterior to the pulmonary artery. An understanding of the mechanisms by which this coronary pattern increases the risk of mortality has led to neutralization of this risk factor. The risk of late reintervention after an arterial switch with single coronary artery is increased with a single left posterior ostium with the right coronary passing anterior to the aorta. The mechanism remains unclear.