Objective

Truncus Arteriosus is a rare congenital heart defect whereby a single arterial trunk arises from the ventricles with an associated ventricular septal defect. Currently available surgical repair techniques require multiple reinterventions. Our aims were to evaluate outcomes following repair and assess the impact of age and type of conduit.

Methods

This is a retrospective cohort study of 20 consecutive patients who had undergone Truncus Arteriosus repair from October 2004 to October 2014. Following chart review, data were extracted using a standardised data collection sheet and analysed using Microsoft Excel and Stata.

Results

Median age and weight was 12.5 days and 3.35 kg, respectively. 60% were Collett and Edwards Type 1. Interrupted aortic arch was present in 25%, 10% had at least moderate truncal regurgitation, and 40% had anomalous coronary artery anatomy. Contegra was utilised for the RV to PA conduit in 65%, pulmonary homograft in 30% and CorMatrix in 5%. The 30 day mortality was 5% (n=1). Of those surviving, 63% required further intervention and 42% reoperation within a median follow up period of 47 months.

Conclusion

Reinterventions and reoperations are inevitable given the lack of growth potential with currently available conduits. However, the availability of percutaneous interventions allows the expected conduit change to be considerably delayed. Significant work is required in order to improve conduits and thereby improve outcomes for this patient cohort.