2-cm Modified Axillary Incision Repairs Tetralogy of Fallot in 5-Month-Old, Setting a National Record

The Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Shanghai Children's Medical Center has completed the hospital's first modified small-incision axillary repair of tetralogy of Fallot in an infant of just 5 months, setting a national record for minimally invasive treatment of complex congenital heart disease at such a young age. The conventional approach requires splitting the sternum through an 8- to 10-centimeter incision, causing major trauma and a risk of chest wall deformity. After repeated preoperative assessment of the infant's cardiac anatomy, the team led by Liang Weijie, deputy chief physician and head of the first cardiothoracic surgery ward, created a concealed 2- to 3-centimeter incision in the right axilla.

Without splitting the sternum or damaging the thoracic skeleton, the team repaired the ventricular septal defect, relieved right ventricular outflow tract obstruction, performed pulmonary valvuloplasty and widened the pulmonary artery branches, correcting all cardiac malformations completely in a single operation. The infant's postoperative palpitations resolved entirely and the family was very satisfied. Liang Weijie's team has performed minimally invasive correction for nearly 4,000 children with congenital heart disease from across the country.