Supportive care Before surgical treatment was developed, at least 90 per cent of infants with this condition died by the age of one month. Even today, some infants are not candidates for surgical therapy. For these infants, supportive care is the only option. Exactly what this care entails will depend on the condition of the infant, but would likely include assistance with breathing, the provision of fluids and management of pain. Reconstruction of the heart Staged reconstruction is the treatment of choice for hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
Reconstruction takes place in three stages.
The first stage, known as a Norwood operation, is undertaken as soon as possible after birth. This stage calls for a homograft 1 to be used to enlarge the rudimentary aortic arch and then join it to the pulmonary trunk. This is known as an anastomosis. The pulmonary trunk will have been disconnected from the left and right pulmonary arteries. The newly created blood vessel functions as the patient's aorta.