Comparison of surgical and transcatheter treatment for native coarctation of the aorta in patients > or = 1 year old. The Quebec Native Coarctation of the Aorta study.

BACKGROUND: The objectives of this study were to compare, in the current era, the immediate results, complications, and midterm outcomes obtained by surgical repair versus transcatheter treatment of coarctation of the aorta (CoA).

METHODS: The study was of retrospective nature and included 80 consecutive patients > or = 1 year old (mean age 12 +/- 10 years) treated for an isolated CoA in 4 university centers in Quebec between 1998 and 2004. Fifty patients underwent aortic angioplasty, with stent implantation in 19, and 30 had surgical repair. Immediate results, procedural complications, clinical events, and the incidence of aortic aneurysm at follow-up were compared between groups.

RESULTS: There were no differences between the 2 groups in clinical baseline characteristics. Percentage reduction in peak systolic pressure gradient across the coarctation was similar between the 2 groups (angioplasty 72% +/- 23% vs surgery 75% +/- 18%, P = .55). Procedure-related complications occurred more frequently after surgical repair compared with angioplasty (50% vs 18%, P = .005), and median hospitalization time was longer in the surgical than in the angioplasty group (7 vs 1 day, P < .001). At 38 +/- 21 months' follow-up, no patient in the surgical group and 16 patients in the angioplasty group had at least 1 aortic reintervention (0% vs 32%, P < .0001). The presence of an aortic aneurysm was diagnosed more frequently in the angioplasty group compared with the surgical group (24% vs 0%, P = .01).

CONCLUSION: Aortic angioplasty provided comparable immediate hemodynamic results to surgery, with reduced morbidity and hospitalization length for the treatment of CoA in patients > or = 1 year old. However, angioplasty was associated with a higher rate of reintervention and aneurysm formation at a mean follow-up of 3 years.