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Atrioventricular Septal Defect (AVSD)
The aim of this fact sheet is to explain what Atriventricular
Septal Defect (AVSD) is, whateffect it will have on a child and how
it can be treated.
What is AtrioventricularSeptal Defect?Atrioventricular means of
the atria and theventricles the four chambers of theheart.Septal
means of the septum the wallbetween the left and right sides of
theheart.
Defect refers to a hole.
So Atrioventricular Septal Defect meansthere is a hole between
the atria andbetween the ventricles.
In a normal heart there is a mitral valvebetween the left atrium
and ventricle and atricuspid valve between the right atriumand
ventricle. Hearts affected by AVSDonly have one atrioventricular
valve (seeFigure 1).
The blood on the left side of the heart is athigher pressure
than the blood on the rightside of the heart. This means
thatoxygenated blood flows from the left sideof the heart, through
the holes and mixeswith the deoxygenated blood on the rightside of
the heart. The result is that there istoo much blood on the right
hand side ofthe heart. This blood then has to flow athigh pressure
into the pulmonary arterytowards the lungs.
The one atrioventricular valve often leakseither into the left
or right atrium or both.This makes the heart less efficient
thannormal so it has to work harder to function.
Fig 1 AVSD
Fig 2 Normal Heart
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with you in detail before asking you toconsent to the
operation.
The length of time in hospital will usuallybe only 10 to 12
days, of which one or twowill be spent in the intensive care and
highdependency unit. Of course this dependson how well your child
is before and afterthe surgery, and whether anycomplications
arise.
How it affects your childIf the surgery is straightforward, and
yourchild does not have other health problems,
he or she should be completely well shortlyafter surgery. There
will be a scar downthe middle of the chest, and there may besmall
scars where drain tubes were used.These fade very rapidly in most
children,but they will not go altogether. Smallerscars on the hands
and neck usually fadeaway to nothing.
Some of these problems can occur aftersurgery or later in
life:
It is common for the valves to leaka little. If this becomes
severe, theymay need to be repaired or evenreplaced with artificial
valves.
If an artificial valve is inserted thenthe child will need to
take ananticoagulant medicine to stopblood clots forming.
The electrical system of the heart issometimes damaged
duringsurgery. This can cause a slow
heartbeat, called heart block. Thismay need to be corrected by
givingthe child a pacemaker.
Some patients go on to developsub-aortic stenosis, a
blockagebelow the aortic valve, which mayneed to be repaired using
openheart surgery.
