Failure to treat the condition yields a mortality rate of 90% at a median age of 4 days. Death occurs due to increased blood flow from the left side of the heart (oxygenated blood) to the right side (deoxygenated blood), inducing heart failure; pulmonary edema; and eventual closing of the ductus arteriosus. For an infant with an<unk> , a patent (open) ductus arteriosus allows for blood to bypass the "interruption," without which blood will be unable to reach the lower half of the body. As a result, the kidneys fail and the blood becomes acidic, resulting in death. With modern surgical techniques, 81% of children with an<unk>  survive to be 15 years-old. The fate of survivors in the long-term is still unclear. Surgical complications The most common, early complication of surgery is bleeding, the risk of which can be increased by prematurity, prolonged acidosis prior to surgery, and excessive tension on the anastamosis due to inadequate mobilization of the ascending and descending aorta. Other early complications include damage to the left recurrent laryngeal nerve and the phrenic nerve. Late complications include obstruction of the graft and obstruction of the left main bronchus (which passes underneath the<unk> <unk> .
Interrupted aortic arch
Double aortic arch
First arch syndrome
Right-sided aortic arch
Situs ambiguus
Persistent truncus arteriosus
Crisscross heart
Tricuspid atresia