Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c4f8m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T12:57:30.027Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Gerbode Defect: The Significance of a Left Ventricular to Right Atrial Shunt*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 November 2009

Angela M. Kelle ,
Luciana Young ,
Sunjay Kaushal ,
C. Elise Duffy ,
Robert H. Anderson  and
Carl L. Backer
Angela M. Kelle
Affiliation:
From the Division of Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Luciana Young
Affiliation:
Division of Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Sunjay Kaushal
Affiliation:
From the Division of Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
C. Elise Duffy
Affiliation:
Division of Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Robert H. Anderson
Affiliation:
The Institute of Child Health, University College London, United Kingdom
Carl L. Backer*
Affiliation:
From the Division of Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
*
Correspondence to: Carl L. Backer, Division of Cardiovascular–Thoracic Surgery, Children’s Memorial Hospital, 2300 Children’s Plaza, mc 22, Chicago, IL 60614; E-mail: cbacker@childrensmemorial.org
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

The so-called Gerbode ventriculo-atrial defect is a rare defect that permits shunting from the left ventricle to the right atrium. It takes 2 forms, either a deficiency of the atrioventricular membranous septum, or shunting initially through a ventricular septal defect, with atrial shunting occurring through a deficiency in the septal leaflet of the tricuspid valve. In this review, we describe the natural history and outcomes of surgical repair for the variant with shunting through a deficiency at the site of the atrioventricular membranous septum.

Methods

From 1990 to 2008, we identified 6 patients from our departmental database who had undergone surgical closure of a congenital defect of the atrioventricular component of the membranous septum. Median age at repair was 1.6 years, with a range, from 0.4 to 19 years. All patients were symptomatic, with 3 having congestive cardiac failure, 2 failing to thrive, and 2 having intolerance to exercise. All had a dilated right atrium demonstrated by echocardiogram, with a mean preoperative gradient measured by echocardiogram to be 109 millimetres of mercury, with a range from 65 to 150 millimetres of mercury.

Results

There was no operative or late mortality. The mean size of the defect was 6.2 ± 2.0 millimetres, with a range from 4 to 8 millimetres. All were closed by insertion of a patch. The mean period of cardiopulmonary bypass was 90.5 ± 11.3 minutes, the mean time of aortic cross-clamping 54.8 ± 6.9 minutes, and the mean length of stay in hospital 4.3 ± 1.0 days. No patient had a residual defect, and only trivial regurgitation of the tricuspid valve was evident by postoperative echocardiography. There were no complications or reoperations.

Conclusion

The membranous ventriculo-atrial defect can be recognized echocardiographically on the basis of dilation of the right atrium in the setting of an unusually high Doppler echocardiogram gradient compared to the ventricular septal defect with shunting only at ventricular level. Since all patients in our series were symptomatic, we recommend surgical closure of all these defects.

Type
Original Article
Information
Cardiology in the Young , Volume 19 , Issue S2: Innovation associated with the treatment of patients with congenital and pediatric cardiac disease , November 2009 , pp. 96 - 99
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

This paper was presented at The All Children’s Hospital, The Congenital Heart Institute of Florida (CHIF), and The University of South Florida Ninth Annual International Symposium on Congenital Heart Disease with Echocardiographic, Anatomic, Surgical, and Pathologic Correlation (CHD9). Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club, St. Petersburg, Florida, Friday, February 13, 2009 – Tuesday, February 17, 2009.

References

1.Buhl, , cited by Meyer H. Uber angeborene Enge oder Verschluss der Lungenarterienbahn. Virchow’s Arch f path Anat 1857; 12: 532.Google Scholar
2.Kirby, CK, Johnson, JJ, Zinsser, HF. Successful closure of a left ventricular-right atrial shunt. Ann Surg 1957; 145: 392.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3.Gerbode, F, Hultgren, H, Melrose, D, Osborn, J. Syndrome of left ventricular-right atrial shunt. Successful repair of defect in five cases, with observation of bradycardia on closure. Ann Surg 1958; 148: 433–446.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4.Hill, JD. Frank Gerbode (1907–1984). In memoriam. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1985; 90: 448–450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Riemenschneider, TA, Moss, AJ. Left ventricular-right atrial communication. Am J Cardiol 1967; 19: 710–718.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Jacobs, JP, Burke, RP, Quintessenza, JA, Mavroudis, C. Congenital Heart Surgery Nomenclature and Database Project: ventricular septal defect. Ann Thorac Surg 2000; 69 (Suppl): S25–S35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.McKay, R, Battistessa, SA, Wilkinson, JL, Wright, JP. A communication from the left ventricle to the right atrium: a defect in the central fibrous body. Int J Cardiol 1989; 23: 117–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar