Survival rate?

what is my survial rate/ life expectancy if i was born with Tetralogy of the Fallot and have had 2 surgeries to repair it when i was younger? i have to go in for a third soon because i have also in the last few years developed pulmonary stenosis which came from the TOF. im just wondering because i would really like to know. the past 6 months have been getting worse and worse and ive also been having Congestive Heart Failure signs. I%26#039;m 20 right now.

Survival rate?

Tetralogy of Fallot has four key features. A ventricular septal defect (a hole between the ventricles) and many levels of obstruction from the right ventricle to the lungs (pulmonary stenosis) are the most important. Also, the aorta (major artery from the heart to the body) lies directly over the ventricular septal defect, and the right ventricle develops thickened muscle. Because the aorta overrides the ventricular defect and there%26#039;s pulmonary stenosis, blood from both ventricles (oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor) is pumped into the body. Sometimes the pulmonary valve is completely obstructed (pulmonary atresia). Infants and young children with unrepaired tetralogy of Fallot are often blue (cyanotic). The reason is that some oxygen-poor blood is pumped to the body. Tetralogy of Fallot is treated surgically. A temporary operation may be done at first if the baby is small. Complete repair comes later. Sometimes, the first operation is a complete intracardiac repair. In small and very blue infants, a shunt operation may be done first to provide adequate blood flow to the lungs. This lets the baby grow big enough to have a full repair. The shunt is built between the aorta and the pulmonary artery. The shunt is removed when a complete intracardiac repair is done later. Complete repair tends to be done early in life. Once it was more common to do a temporary operation first and a complete repair later in childhood. To do a complete repair, the surgeon closes the ventricular septal defect with a patch and opens the right ventricular outflow tract by removing some thickened muscle below the pulmonary valve, repairing or removing the pulmonary valve and enlarging the peripheral pulmonary arteries that go to both lungs. Sometimes a tube is placed between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery. This is sometimes called a Rastelli repair.

With regard to Pulmonary Stenosis, the pulmonary valve opens to let blood flow from the right ventricle to the lungs. Narrowing of the pulmonary valve (valvar pulmonary stenosis) causes the right ventricle to pump harder to get blood past the blockage. If the stenosis is severe, especially in babies, some cyanosis (blueness) may occur. Older children usually have no symptoms. Treatment is needed when the pressure in the right ventricle is high (even though there may be no symptoms). In most children the obstruction can be relieved during cardiac catheterization by balloon valvuloplasty. In this procedure, a special catheter containing a balloon is placed across the pulmonary valve. The balloon is inflated and the valve is stretched open. In other patients surgery may be needed. During surgery the valve can usually be opened so that it works well again.The outlook after balloon valvuloplasty or surgery is favorable. Still, follow-up is needed to find out if the heart works normally. Children with pulmonary stenosis are at risk for an infection of the valve (endocarditis) before and after surgery. You should get antibiotics such as amoxicillin before dental work and certain surgeries to help prevent endocarditis. Good dental hygiene lowers the risk of endocarditis, too. Ask your cardiologist for more information about dental hygiene and preventing endocarditis.

In all cases requiring more detailed information your doctor should be consulted or a doctor specialising in the conditions you are enquiring about.

Hope this helps

Matador 89

Survival rate?

I hate to say it, not very good