Cardiovascular Diseases and Cardiac Surgery

Overview

Elizabeth H. Stephens, M.D., Ph.D., a pediatric and congenital cardiac surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, discusses the anatomy, physiology and surgical management of tetralogy of Fallot.

Tetralogy of Fallot findings include a ventricular septal defect and often a narrowed pathway to the lungs that can cause babies to turn blue. Although the first surgical repair is performed in infancy, these patients frequently require re-operation on the pulmonary valve as teenagers or adults.