Progression of Aortic Regurgitation After Subarterial Ventricular Septal Defect Repair: Optimal Timing of the Operation

In patients with subarterial ventricular septal defect (VSD), the progression of aortic regurgitation (AR) still remains unclear. This review is to identify the incidence of AR progression after VSD repair and to determine the optimal operation timing for subarterial VSD repair with or without aortic valve prolapse or AR. From January 2002 to December 2015, 103 patients who underwent subarterial VSD repair alone at our hospital were reviewed. All patients routinely underwent echocardiography (echo) performed by our pediatric cardiologists. The operative approach was through the pulmonary artery in all patients. The median age of patients at operation was 10 months (range 3 to 16.5 months). Eighty-nine patients (86.4%) underwent subarterial VSD closure before the age of 4 years. In the preoperative evaluation, 27.2% (28 patients) of the patients showed more than faint degree AR. The mean follow-up duration after VSD repair was 6.6 ± 4.0 years. In the latest follow-up echo after VSD repair, four patients had more than mild degree AR owing to aortic valve abnormalities or delayed operation period. Among them, AR progression occurred in only one patient (0.98%). Early and accurate assessment of the anatomical morphology of the aortic valve and optimal operation timing may be important to achieve better outcomes after repair and to prevent the development of aortic valve complications.