Primary Results of Late Surgical Treatment in Children with Tetralogy of Fallot from a Developing Country

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose was to show how important is to operate on the Senegalese African children presenting with Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) regardless of their age. Methods: It is a retrospective, descriptive analysis of data from the Department of Pediatric Cardiology, University Hospital of Tuebingen’s data base which was searched for all cases of TOF in foreign patients younger than 15 years between 05/2004-10/2016. Results: 16 children from Senegal with TOF were referred for treatment. Mean age of patients was 7.0 years (range 0.9 - 14.8 years). Primary corrective surgery was performed in 13/16 patients. A primary shunt procedure was required in 3/16 patients. All patients were discharged in good condition with a median 13 postoperative days. We did not register any deaths. All became asymptomatic with pulse oximetry oxygen saturations greater than 95%. The right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) gradient was less than 30 mmHg in all patients and 2 patients had moderate pulmonary valvular insufficiency. Conclusions: It was still necessary to operate Senegalese children presenting with TOF irrespective of their age.