Decreasing right ventricular afterload is also important. After a thought-provoking question and answer period, there was a coffee break and time for the participants to mingle with the exhibitors. As an increasing number of children with CHD survive into adolescence and young adulthood, more patients will require additional surgery either related to or unrelated to their heart disease. In almost all patients with repaired or palliated CHD some residual abnormality exists. Either right sided, left sided, regional or global ventricular dysfunction may exist.
Patients are at risk for bacterial endocarditis.
They may be at risk for systemic air embolus, may continue to be cyanotic or to have conduction abnormalities and dysrythmias. Ventricular pressure or volume overload may exist and will need careful management in the perioperative period. Corrective surgery for CHD may have resulted in phrenic nerve or recurrent laryngeal nerve palsies. The topic of the lecture was Nitric Oxide as a Unique Signaling Molecule in the Cardiovascular System . His lecture was a delightful blend of science and humor as Dr. Ignarro described the process of discovering Nitric Oxide and its subsequent isolation.