Subaortic obstruction after the use of an intracardiac baffle to tunnel the left ventricle to the aorta.

Postoperative hemodynamic studies in five patients document subaortic obstruction after surgical repair utilizing an intracardiac baffle to establish continuity between the left ventricle and the aorta. Four of the patients had a Rastelli procedure for D-transposition of the great arteries with a ventricular septal defect and pulmonary stenosis; one patient had repair of double outlet right ventricle with a ventricular septal defect and pulmonary stenosis. The left ventricular outflow was shown to be a long narrow tunnel by angiography in four of five patients and by echocardiography in one patient. Resting aortic peak systolic pressure gradient ranged from 10 to 42 mm Hg (mean 24). The obstruction was localized to the proximal end of the left ventricule to aorta tunnel (i.e., at the site of ventricular septal defect) in five patients. One patient with a gradient of 42 mm Hg has angina and decreased exercise tolerance. Subaortic obstruction is a newly described sequelae after the Rastelli procedure for transposition or repair of double outlet right ventricle. The obstruction may be hemodynamically significant and should be searched for at postoperative cardiac catheterization.