Surgical repair of truncal arteriosus is typically performed in the first few weeks or months of life to prevent complications and improve the baby’s overall health and well-being.
This repair involves three steps:
- Separating the aorta and pulmonary artery: The primary goal of the surgery is to separate the single large vessel that arises from the heart (truncus arteriosus) into two separate vessels: the aorta and the pulmonary artery. This separation properly distributes oxygen-rich blood to the body and oxygen-poor blood to the lungs.
- Ventricular septal defect (VSD) repair: In most cases of truncus arteriosus, there is also a ventricular septal defect, which is closed. Closing the ventricular septal defect prevents blood from mixing between the right and left ventricles.
- Reconstruction: The surgeon reconstructs the aorta and pulmonary artery by creating two separate openings and using grafts, typically made of a synthetic material or the infant’s tissue, to form the new blood vessels. This ensures that oxygen-rich blood is delivered to the body and efficient blood flow to the lungs is achieved.
