Surgical correction of tetralogy of Fallot in a 61-year-old patient

Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2012 Mar;60(3):161-3. doi: 10.1007/s11748-011-0799-8. Epub 2012 Mar 15.

Abstract

Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is a congenital heart disease that is usually diagnosed and treated during infancy. Only 3% of such patients reach the age of 40 without surgery. We describe a 61-year-old woman with uncorrected TOF that was successfully treated by radical surgery. The patient presented with exertional dyspnea, insomnia, and malaise. Echocardiography and cardiac catheterization indicated a dilated, severely hypertrophic right ventricle, ventricular septal defect, an overriding aorta, and infundibular stenosis in the right ventricular outflow tract. All symptoms disappeared after full surgical correction, which remains the preferred treatment for adult TOF because it confers long-term survival and an improved quality of life.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Cardiac Catheterization
  • Cardiac Surgical Procedures*
  • Dyspnea / etiology
  • Echocardiography
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / etiology
  • Tetralogy of Fallot / complications
  • Tetralogy of Fallot / diagnosis
  • Tetralogy of Fallot / surgery*
  • Treatment Outcome