Late concomitant repair of tetralogy of Fallot and aortic valve replacement following successful pregnancy

Abstract

The importance of patient follow-up after repair of tetralogy of Fallot, with special attention to the development of arrhythmias, has been widely studied. It is only recently that postoperative problems relating to the aortic root of these individuals have been looked into. The present case report refers to a patient with tetralogy of Fallot who underwent complete correction, together with aortic valve replacement at 33 years of age following a successful pregnancy. To our knowledge, this is the third report of primary repair of tetralogy of Fallot with simultaneous aortic valve replacement for severe aortic regurgitation. Our patient is unique in that she had uncorrected and unpalliated tetralogy of Fallot and severe aortic regurgitation and still went through an uneventful pregnancy and delivery. There is only one report of successful pregnancy and delivery in uncorrected tetralogy, but this was not associated with aortic regurgitation.