Intermediate and complete forms of atrioventricular canal.

The surgical management of patients with complete atrioventricular canal has evolved over the past 20 years from a staged approach with preliminary pulmonary artery banding and eventual definitive repair, to an era of complete repair in early infancy. Although once considered high risk, the early mortality is now low and is primarily related to pulmonary hypertension secondary to a prolonged delay in diagnosis and referral. While controversy still exists over the techniques of repair, evaluation of outcome of atrioventricular canal should now be focused on the long-term function of the mitral valve, and the overall long-term survival. A detailed description of the single-patch technique and management of the atrioventricular valve, as well as an indepth discussion of outcome is presented.