Early Surgical Repair of the Coronary Artery Fistulae in Children: 30 Years of Experience

Abstract

Background Congenital coronary artery fistula (CAF) is a rare anomaly that may lead to the development of early heart failure or late complications. We reviewed our experience and outcomes of surgically corrected CAF. Methods From June 1982 to October 2012, 13 children aged between 3 days and 5.2 years (median 13.9 months) underwent repair of CAF. Four patients (30.8%) presented with congestive heart failure. Both coronary arteries were affected with equal incidence. All patients underwent preoperative cardiac catheterization. Repair was undertaken with cardiopulmonary bypass in 10 patients (76.9%), and 5 patients (38.5%) had concomitant repair of associated cardiac lesions. Seven patients (..