[Aortic coarctation associated with endocardial fibroelastosis in infants (clinical aspects, diagnosis and surgical treatment)].

Among 111 infants with coarctation of the aorta, fibroelastosis of the left ventricular endocardium was found in 14 cases comprising 12.6%. Such a combination usually caused an extremely poor state of the patients and served as an indication for surgery. A resection of the coarctation of the aorta in cases of fibroelastosis provides for a significant reduction of the workload on the left ventricular myocardium, for an improvement of the patient's state permitting to survive the critical first three years of life. The problems of intravital diagnosis of fibroelastosis in patients with coarctation of the aorta are presented, the importance of chronic ischaemia of the left ventricle in the development of fibroelastosis is emphasized. The details of surgical tactics and postoperative care of such patients are discussed.