查看文章

Background: Today, corrective surgery of native tetralogy of Fallot beyond childhood is a rare exception. in the years following the fall of the Berlin wall, 22 adults with uncorrected tetralogy presented to our center, mostly from former Eastern Block countries.

Hypothesis: Our aim was to examine whether adults with tetralogy of Fallot benefit from late surgical repair. Nineteen patients underwent corrective surgery; hospital mortality was 16%. Follow‐up examination 3.5 (0.3–9.7) years postoperatively consisted of chart review and a written questionnaire. Incidence of ventricular arrhythmias was 32% before surgery and increased to 50% 3.5 years after surgery. Clinical status and New York Heart Association classification were clearly improved. This was not reflected in an improvement of the patients' socioeconomic status, as none of the 9 patients in our group of 19, who were jobless before the surgery, experienced a …