Objective To study palliative surgical strategies for patients with complex congenital heart diseases， and improve their clinical outcomes and survival rate.?Methods We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 95 patients with complex congenital heart diseases who underwent palliative surgical repair in Union Hospital of Tongji Medical College，Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 2004 to May 2011. There were 68 male patients and 27female patients with their age ranging from 1 month to 37 years. Modified Blalock-Taussig shunt （B-T shunt） was performed in 12 patients， modified Brock’s procedure in 23 patients， bidirectional Glenn procedure in 55 patients and pulmonary artery banding in 5 patients. Surgical strategies and influential factors of treatment outcomes were analyzed.?Results There were 10 in-hospital death with the overall mortality of 10.5% （10/95）. All the surviving patients were discharged successfully. Main postoperative complications included low cardiac output syndrome， hypoxemia and pneumonia. All the surviving patients were followed up for 5 months to 6 years， and in New York Heart Association （NYHA） functional class ⅠorⅡduring follow-up. During follow-up， nine patients after modified Brock’s procedure received radical repair， and 6 patients after bidirectional Glenn procedure received total cavopulmonary connection.?Conclusion A considerable numberof patients with complex congenital heart diseases may miss their best timing for surgical repair， which significantlyinfluences their surgical outcomes. We need to choose best palliative surgical strategy for these patients according to their pulmonary artery development condition， heart malformation characteristics and final treatment goal.
ObjectiveTo analyze the effectiveness of in vitro fenestration versus bypass surgery techniques in the treatment of type B aortic dissection involving the left subclavian artery by thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR).MethodsAmong the 53 patients with type B aortic dissection involving the left subclavian artery admitted to our center from January 2017 to October 2020, 23 underwent in vitro fenestration + TEVAR (a fenestration group with 18 males and 5 females aged 53.6±5.3 years), and 30 patients underwent left common carotid artery-left subclavian artery bypass + TEVAR (a bypass group with 24 males and 6 females aged 51.8±3.8 years). The effectiveness and safety between the two groups were compared.ResultsThe surgical success rate was 100.0% in both groups. And there was no death within postoperative 30 days and during the follow-up. There was no endoleak immediately postoperatively and during 1-year follow-up in the two groups. The operation time and hospitalization expenses in the fenestration group was less or shorter than those in the bypass group (P<0.05). The reduction in blood pressure of the left upper limb in the fenestration group was greater than that in the bypass group (P<0.05). There was no symptom of left upper limb ischemia, dizziness or hoarseness in both groups.ConclusionThe two methods of reconstruction of the left subclavian artery are safe and effective. In vitro fenestration can reduce surgical trauma and costs, and bypass surgery can provide better forward blood flow for the left subclavian artery.