Resumo

INDUNI, Eduardo et al. Corrección quirúrgica de la coartación de la aorta: experiencia quirúrgica durante 30 años en el Hospital México. Rev. costarric. cardiol [online]. 2000, vol.2, n.2, pp.11-14. ISSN 1409-4142.

Eighty two patients with aortic coarctation have been operated upon at the Hospital Mexico during the last 30 years. The median age is 20.3 years and since at the beginning our center also cared for children, 8 of them are here included. The clinical presentation in those below 1 year was heart failure, and the rest manifested  signs and symptoms related to arterial hypertension or distal ischemia such as intermittent claudication of the lower extremities. During the first 10 years 27 resections were performed and later on other techniques were adopted, but since 1984 dura mater patch aortoplasty  has been exclusively employed.  Eighty four percent of the patients became normotensives, 10% improved and 6% did not change. Sixteen percent had common complications to this type of interventions which resolved with appropriate management. Two patients died (2.4%), one a 4 months old baby with heart failure and bronchopneumonia and the other a 23 year old with recoarctation who was reoperated for recurrent postoperative bleeding and developed multisystemic organ failure.  The patch aortoplasty technique has given us very good results, it is easy to perform since it is done right in front of the surgeon and better hemostasis can be achieved, the remaining aortic tissue can and it will grow and allows for a wider luminal diameter reducing or abolishing pressure gradients across the coarcted segment.

Palavras-chave : Aortic coarctation; aortoplasty; duramater patch.