[Aortic valve insufficiency: an unrecognized complication of the surgical repair of ostium primum atrial septal defect]

Abstract

Between 1974 and 1989, eight children undergoing surgical repair of a partial atrioventricular canal comprising an ostium primum atrial septal defect, mitral regurgitation due to a cleft mitral valve (6 cases) and a small ventricular septal defect (1 case) developed aortic regurgitation. This complication was diagnosed on the finding of a diastolic murmur 1 day to 9 years after the repair of the atrial septal defect. The degree of regurgitation was Grade I in 4 cases but in the other patients it was severe from the outset requiring emergency surgery the next day (1 case), or moderate at the beginning but rapidly progressive (1 case) or slowly progressive (2 cases) leading to aortic valvuloplasty in these 3 patients. The cause of the regurgitation was iatrogenic: perforation of the non coronary cusp secondary to repair of the ostium primum atrial septal defect. None of the patients required aortic valve replacement. After surgical valvuloplasty, all children had Grade 1 aortic regurgitation. Color coded Doppler echocardiography confirmed the diagnosis and helped assess the clinical course of this lesion during follow-up.