Common arterial trunk: current implementation of the primary and staged repair strategies

OBJECTIVES: In this study, we report our experience on the primary and staged surgical approaches for common arterial trunk (CAT) repair. METHODS: Between August 2003 and February 2015, 16 consecutive patients underwent CAT repair in our institution. Two different approaches have been followed: group ‘primary repair’ (PR) consists of patients suitable for straightforward CAT repair, who underwent surgery electively at 1–3 months of age (n=13); group‘staged repair’ (SR) consists of critically ill neonates with CAT and poor preoperative status or coexisting interrupted aortic arch (n=3). They underwent staged CAT repair with aortic arch repair and right ventricular-topulmonary artery (RV-PA) shunt within the neonatal period, followed byan intracardiac repair later in infancy. RESULTS: Median age at initial surgical treatment was 8 days (range: 7–21 days) in group SR and 34 days (range: 14–91 days) in group PR (P=0.03). Mean Aristotle Comprehensive Complexity score was 11±0.6 (range: 11–13) in group PR and 18±3.1 (range: 15–21) in group SR (P