General Complications

-Residual defects: leading to various degrees of left to right shunt.

-Pulmonary hypertension: this is the most predictable complication in older patients who had time to develop pulmonary vascular disease, in neonates and in patients with pulmonary venous obstruction.

-Arrhythmias: any arrhythmia can occur after any cardiac surgical procedure, but the patients with ventricular or atrioventricular septal defects have a greater risk of complete heart block (CHB) and junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET).

Specific Complications

▪ Repair of atrial septal defects

-Sinus-Node dysfunction.

-Acute left-ventricular failure (in older children and adults).

▪ Repair of ventricular septal defects

-Pulmonary Hypertension.

-Arrhythmias: JET and CHB.

-Insufficiency or stenosis of the right atrioventricular valve.

▪ Ligation of patent ductus arteriosus

-Recurrent laryngeal nerve injury.

-Damage or ligation of the left pulmonary artery or aorta.

▪ Repair of truncus arteriosus

-Pulmonary hypertension.

-Truncal valve stenosis or regurgitation.

-Right ventricular dysfunction.

▪ Repair of aorto-pulmonary window

-Pulmonary hypertension.

▪ Repair of anomalous pulmonary venous return

-Pulmonary hypertension.

-Arrhythmias.

-Residual stenosis of the pulmonary veins or anastomosis.

-High left ventricular filling pressures due to the small size of the left chambers.