The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Vol 76, 135-139, Copyright © 1978 by The American Association for Thoracic Surgery and The Western Thoracic Surgical Association
Vulnerability of coronary arteries in surgery for transposition of the great arteries
KR Anderson, DC McGoon and JT Lie
A detailed anatomic study of 82 hearts from patients operated upon for
complete or congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries
revealed 12 instances of intraoperative injury to a major coronary artery.
Because the coronary arterial anatomy is so variable in transposition of
the great arteries, there is a significant risk of injury to them during
operation. This is especially so if epicardial adhesions and scarring from
previous operations obscure the surface anatomy of the heart. The most
common site of injury was adjacent to incisions in the anterior surface of
the right-sided ventricle, particularly in congenitally corrected
transposition. Without a meticulous examination, these complications of
cardiac surgery may be easily overlooked even when the hearts are examined
at autopsy.