Introduction
The incidence of coarctation of aorta (CoA) is 4 in 10,000 live births,
and accounts for 5% to 8% of congenital heart diseases [1]. Patent
ductus arteriosus, ventricular septal defect, bicuspid aortic valve,
cerebral aneurysms of the circle of Willis and other congenital heart
diseases (transposition of the great vessels, Tausig-Bing anomaly,
hypoplastic left heart syndrome etc.) may accompany CoA [2,3]. In
untreated cases, coronary disease, aortic dissection and rupture,
cerebrovascular accident, or bacterial endocarditis may develop as
complications, while the survival of these cases is approximately 35
years [4] and the majority of patients (90%) die before their 50s
[2,4].
After repair, postoperative persistent arterial hypertension occurs in
7% to 33% of patients and may be a result of recurrent or residual
CoA, or may be idiopathic. The frequency of postoperative recurrent CoA
ranges from 5% to 50%. The significant variation in recurrence
frequency is primarily associated with the age at initial repair [9,
10] rather than factors such as the specific surgical method of
repair, suture material and sewing technique, which were once suggested
to be associated with recurrence development [4].