Transposition of the Great Arteries and Common Variants.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this review are to discuss the physiology, perioperative management, surgical correction, and outcomes of infants with transposition of the great arteries and common variants undergoing the arterial switch operation.

DATA SOURCE: MEDLINE and PubMed.

CONCLUSION: The widespread adoption of the arterial switch operation for transposition of great arteries has been one of the more gratifying advances in pediatric cardiovascular care, and represents the simultaneous improvements in diagnostics, surgical and bypass techniques, anesthesia in the neonate, improvements in intensive care technology, nursing strategies, and system-wide care delivery. Many of the strategies adopted for the neonate with transposition of the great arteries have been translated to neonatal care for other congenital heart lesions. Continued work is necessary to investigate the effects of perioperative care on long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes, as well as collaboration between centers to spread "best practices" for outcome, cost, and morbidity reduction.