A new anatomic approach of the ventricular septal defect in the interruption of the aortic arch

Intracardiac thrombosis after congenital heart disease surgeries in neonates: a report of two cases

BACKGROUND

Intracardiac thrombosis (ICT) is a rare complication after the cardiopulmonary surgery for interrupted aortic arch (IAA) or total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) without previous records. There are still no general guidelines regarding as the mechanism or management of postoperative ICT in neonates and younger infants.

CASE PRESENTATION

We reported the conservative and surgical therapies in two neonates with intra-ventricular and intra-atrial thrombosis after the anatomical repair for IAA and TAPVC, respectively. There were no risk factors for ICT in both patients, except for the use of blood product and prothrombin complex concentrate. The surgery was indicated after TAPVC correction due to the worsening respiratory status and rapidly decreased mixed venous saturation. Anticoagulation combined with antiplatelet therapies was adopted in another patient. These two were both finally recovered, and three-month, six-month, and one-year follow-up echocardiography revealed no abnormality.

CONCLUSIONS

ICT is uncommon in pediatric population after the surgery for congenital heart disease. Single ventricle palliation, heart transplantation, longer central line use, post-extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and massive blood product use are major risk factors for postcardiotomy thrombosis. The causes of postoperative ICT are multifactorial, and the immaturity of thrombolytic and fibrinolytic system in neonates may serve as a prothrombotic factor. However, no consensus reached regarding as the therapies for postoperative ICT, and the large-scale prospective cohort study or randomized clinical trial is needed.

Cardiac Neural Crest Cells: Their Rhombomeric Specification, Migration, and Association with Heart and Great Vessel Anomalies

Outflow tract abnormalities are the most frequent congenital heart defects. These are due to the absence or dysfunction of the two main cell types, i.e., neural crest cells and secondary heart field cells that migrate in opposite directions at the same stage of development. These cells directly govern aortic arch patterning and development, ascending aorta dilatation, semi-valvular and coronary artery development, aortopulmonary septation abnormalities, persistence of the ductus arteriosus, trunk and proximal pulmonary arteries, sub-valvular conal ventricular septal/rotational defects, and non-compaction of the left ventricle. In some cases, depending on the functional defects of these cells, additional malformations are found in the expected spatial migratory area of the cells, namely in the pharyngeal arch derivatives and cervico-facial structures. Associated non-cardiovascular anomalies are often underestimated, since the multipotency and functional alteration of these cells can result in the modification of multiple neural, epidermal, and cervical structures at different levels. In most cases, patients do not display the full phenotype of abnormalities, but congenital cardiac defects involving the ventricular outflow tract, ascending aorta, aortic arch and supra-aortic trunks should be considered as markers for possible impaired function of these cells. Neural crest cells should not be considered as a unique cell population but on the basis of their cervical rhombomere origins R3-R5 or R6-R7-R8 and specific migration patterns: R3-R4 towards arch II, R5-R6 arch III and R7-R8 arch IV and VI. A better understanding of their development may lead to the discovery of unknown associated abnormalities, thereby enabling potential improvements to be made to the therapeutic approach.