Evaluation of Reintervention Frequency in Patients Undergoing Interventional and/or Surgical Treatment for Aortic Coarctation

Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the frequency of reintervention in patients who underwent interventional and/or surgical treatment for aortic coarctation, and to determine the causative factors. Materials and Methods: Our study included 85 patients who were treated with the diagnosis of aortic coarctation between 2011 and 2018. Data processing, echocardiography, cardiac catheterization-angiocardiography, and operative records of the patients were retrospectively evaluated. Results: As the initial treatment choice, 38 (44%) patients underwent percutaneous interventional procedure [31 (36%) patients balloon angioplasty and 7 (8%) patients stent implantation, respectively], while 47 (55%) patients were treated surgically. Of the treated patients, 17 (28%) developed recoarctation. Among the patients who were treated and followed up, 20% of those who underwent balloon angioplasty developed recoarctation, while 8% of those who underwent surgery developed recoarctation (p=0.02). Seven patients who underwent stent implantation had no recoarctation throughout the follow-up period. The presence of discrete coarctation (p=0.00), high pre-procedural peak-to-peak pressure gradient (p=0.00) and high post-procedural peak-to-peak pressure gradient (p=0.00), and performing balloon angioplasty (p=0.02) as the initial treatment were evaluated as the factors leading to recoarctation development. Conclusion: It was concluded that the best treatment modality would be preferred based on the characteristics of the patient because of the lower incidence of recoarctation in surgical treatment but fewer procedure-related complications in interventional treatments. Keywords: Coarctation of the aorta, balloon angioplasty, surgery, pediatrics, stent