COMBINED REPAIR OF UPPER STERNAL CLEFT AND TETRALOGY OF FALLOT IN AN INFANT

We report on a 2-month-old infant with the unusual association of an u pper sternal defect and tetralogy of Fallot. Surgical correction of th e cardiac disease consisted of closing the ventricular septal defect a nd relief of the right ventricular outflow tract by infundibuloplasty. The already less compliant bony thorax of the infant made direct appr oximation of the upper sternal defect only possible with adjuvant bila teral chondrotomies. Sternal cleft repair is advised during the very f irst weeks of life, during which complete correction of the rarely ass ociated tetralogy of Fallot can be successfully performed. (C) 1997 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.