[Atrioventricular valve replacement in congenital cardiopathies. A series of 25 surgically-treated patients under 10 years of age].

A series of 25 congenital malformations of the atrioventricular valves underwent valve replacement (10 mechanical and 15 bioprostheses). Seven children died during surgery. The operative mortality was higher before 2 years of age (4/7) than in older children (3/18). It was also higher when valve replacement was performed at second intention (5/14) than when decided on from the outset (2/11). With an average follow-up over 3 years, 9 of the 18 survivors are considered to be good surgical results. Of the other 9, 3 are considered to be moderate results (2 associated subaortic stenoses), 3 present indications of reoperation for calcification of the bioprosthesis, and 3 died in the late follow-up period. This series suggests that plastic surgery of congenital malformations of the atrioventricular valves should continue to be developed.