TOTAL CORRECTION OF COMPLEX OF FALLOT UNDER EXTRACORPOREAL CIRCULATION: IMMEDIATE RESULTS IN A GROUP OF 221 PATIENTS.

SUMMARY In this study, 221 patients with interventricular septal defect associated with pulmonic stenosis underwent total correction. On the basis of the type of the associated pulmonic stenosis, the cases were classified into 3 groups: type I—infundibulo-valvular stenosis; type II—infundibular stenosis; and type III— valvular stenosis. The first group comprises 156 cases, or 70.5 per cent of the series. In this group, symptoms are more intense and correction is followed by a higher mortality than in the other groups. The second group of 54 patients (24.2 per cent) and the last one of 11 patients (4.9 per cent) present less severe surgical problems. The factors responsible for the decreasing mortality observed in this series are discussed. In the last group of 118 patients subjected to total correction, the mortality was 13.5 per cent.