Postoperative Weight-Gain in Early Infants with Symptomatic Large Ventricular Septal Defect

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To investigate the postoperative patterns of weight-gain in early infants with ventricular septal defects (VSDs), we analyze 48 patients who received primary surgical closure of the symptomatic VSDs during 6 months of age in the period of 1993 through 1995. METHODS: Forty-sixt infants met criteria for inclusion in the study. The mean follow up period was 14 months (3 to 36 months). Weight percentile was extrapolarated from data of the Korean boys and girls measured in 1985. The data was compared by one-group paired student t-test. RESULTS: The overall mortality rate of this study was 4% (2/48). No surviving patients required a second ventricular septal defect operation, and the majority no longer received anticongestive therapies. The mean percentile of the preoperative weight was 3.53. In postoperative follow up period, they grew steadily. But, the mean weight percentile was only 5.46 in age under 6 months. Mean 12 percentile was achieved in age of 6 to 8 months, hence 25.4 percentile in 9 to 12 months, 33.5 percentile over 12 months, 64.8 percentile over 24 months of age. The weighing pattern of the patients with smaller defect was similar in 24 patients (52%) with large VSD, which size were same or larger than diameter of the aortic root. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated that the patients under 6 months who have undergone primary surgical closure of the symptomatic large ventricular septal defects could gain the weight normally in postoperative period. Although the weight-gain was not sufficient when the age was under 12 months, It became normal pattern of weighing in age over 12 months.