Results
Twenty-seven patients with a mean (±SD) gestational age of 25.8 (±2.0) weeks and a mean birth weight of 1027 (±423) g were operated using left anterior mini-thoracotomy technique. The lowest body weight was 480 g. Complications such as bleeding, abnormal healing of incision or pneumothorax were not seen. There were 8 mortalities after the operation (29,6 %). There was no internal thoracic artery injury or no need for conversion to thoracotomy or sternotomy. there were 6 (22%) deaths in the postoperative first 30 days and 4 (14,8%) deaths between the postoperative first month and first year. The cause of the deaths were sepsis, NEC, hydrops fetalis, hepatoblastoma and intracranial bleeding. Left diaphragmatic elevation developed in 1 patient, and plication was performed. There was no statistically significant difference in the rates of morbidity, and complication between the groups.