| Summary: | OBJECTIVE: Children with ventricular septal defects (VSD) can have chronic volume overload, which can result in changes of left heart echocardiographic parameters. To evaluate the changes before and after surgical closure, the children were divided into three groups according to the degree of mitral regurgitation (MR), and their echocardiographic characteristics were reviewed at serial follow-up after surgical closure. METHODS: The preoperative, and one-, three-, and 12-month postoperative echocardiographic data of 40 children who underwent surgical closure of VSD were retrospectively reviewed. Left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDD), left ventricular end-systolic dimension (LVESD), mitral valvular characteristics, including degree of MR and mitral valve annulus, and left atrial (LA) characteristics, including volume and dimensions, were observed. RESULTS: Preoperative LVEDV, LVEDD, LVESD, mitral valvular annulus, LA volume, and LA dimensions were significantly larger in children with MR. Additionally, there were significant decreases in LVEDV, LVEDD, LA volume, and LA dimensions at one, three, and 12 months postoperatively. The degree of MR also improved to a lower grade after surgical closure of the VSD without additional mitral valve repair. CONCLUSION: The echocardiographic parameters of left heart dilation and MR in children with VSD improved within the first year after surgical closure without additional mitral valve repair. Furthermore, in all of the patients with VSD, regardless of MR, LA dilation was reduced within three months after surgical closure of the VSD; however, LV and mitral valve annular dilatation decreased within 12 months.
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