VENTRİCULAR SEPTAL DEFECTS CLOSURE USING A MINIMAL RIGHT VERTICAL INFRAAXİLLARY THORACOTOMY Median sternotomy has been considered as the Standard approach for congenital heart defect (CHD) repair, with excellent results since the beginning of cardiac surgery.
As the clinical results of CHD operations improve (with near zero perioperative mortality), the cosmetic implications become more important in the evaluation of these procedures. Several minimally invasive approaches, including ministernotomy a transxiphoid approach without sternotomy , anterolateral thoracotomy , and posterolateral thoracotomy , have been developed to achieve favorable cosmetic results with a perfect repair. Right vertical infraaxillary thoracotomy (RVIAT) has been used in our department for open heart procedures such as atrial septal defects , atrioventricular septal defects , and mitral valve replacement , with good clinical and cosmetic results. Recently, the aesthetic technique was also used to close ventricular septal defects VSD in selected patients.
