Complete repair of tetralogy of Fallot in infancy.

We reviewed our long-term results of complete repair of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) in infant. One hundred and sixty infants diagnosed as TOF underwent complete repair between January 1990 and April 2002. Mean age at the operation was 8.1+/-2.6 months. Correction was accomplished through a short right ventriculotomy of less than 30% of the ventricular height in all patients. A transannular patch was used in 78 patients (49%). There were four early deaths and no late death. Follow-up was complete in all survivors. All patients are currently in New York Heart Association functional class I or II. Actuarial freedom from reoperation at 1 and 10 years were 94.0 and 87.5%, respectively. Echocardiographic studies at follow-up showed excellent right ventricular function in most patients. Our results suggest that early complete repair of TOF yielded acceptable results with low mortality and morbidity. Transventricular repair of intracardiac pathology can be safely applied to yield good postoperative right ventricular function.