Modified repair of coarctation of the aorta and distal arch hypoplasia using the left common carotid artery and additional surgical steps in a newborn with an atypical clinical course of muscular ventricular septal defect: a case report

The surgical treatment of a newborn with coarctation of the aorta and distal arch hypoplasia remains challenging. Aortic obstructive disease combined with intracardiac defects requires a complex approach for treatment. A combined heart defect can be treated with one- or multiple-stage surgical correction. The absence of hemodynamically significant septal defects allows the avoidance of traditional pulmonary artery banding, thereby preventing the requirement for additional surgical steps in the future. Here we present the case of a newborn with coarctation of the aorta and distal arch hypoplasia who underwent modified surgical repair using the left common carotid artery. The newborn also had muscular ventricular septal defect with an atypical clinical course; the condition was complicated by airway compression and required additional surgical steps, including normalization of the spatial-mediastinal relationship. These findings might be useful to pediatric cardiologists and cardiac surgeons involved in the treatment of newborns with similar conditions.