Aortopulmonary shunt with replacement of a common atrioventricular valve in a patient with double inlet ventricle.

Replacement of a common atrioventricular valve with a St. Jude medical prosthesis, together with construction of a central aortopulmonary shunt using a polytetrafluoroethylene graft, were performed on a patient with double inlet ventricle complicated by severe regurgitation across an atrioventricular valve and hypoplastic pulmonary arteries. No complications were noted during a postoperative follow-up of 58 months; indeed, a considerable increase was noted in postoperative exercise capacity. This simple surgical procedure should be considered as a mode of treatment in patients with this combination of lesions.