Repair of leaking postinfarction ventricular septal defect under circulatory arrest via left thoracotomy.

We treated a 60-year-old woman for postinfarction ventricular septal defect (VSD) and closed it by the infarction exclusion method. Postoperatively she was complicated by Candida sternal mediastinitis and residual shunt of VSD. After her sternal infection came under control we repaired the leaking VSD via left thoracotomy under hypothermic circulatory arrest. She recovered well and repair of the leaking VSD under circulatory arrest via left thoracotomy seemed to be a safe and promising alternative for VSD repair.