Cor triatriatum. Review of the surgical aspects with a follow-up report on the first patient successfully treated with surgery.

A follow-up report on the first patient with cor triatriatum to undergo successful surgical treatment is presented. A second procedure was necessary 92 years later because of stenosis of the initial surgically created orifice in the anomalous diaphragm. A review and ananalysis have been made of 17 cases from the literature reporting successful operations for this lesion. Total excision of the accessory septum utilizing cardiopulmonary bypass is presently the appropriate surgical treatment of this entity. Preoperative and postoperative hemodynamic data are discussed. Recognition and correction of this defect are emphasized in order to avoid permanent pulmonary vascular changes attended by a relatively fixed cardiac output.