Nursing care of a child following an arterial switch procedure for transposition of the great arteries

The restoration of the left ventricle as the systemic pump and the lack of sinus node dysfunction (assessment with the Senning or Mustard procedure) have been suggested as the major advantages of the arterial switch procedure. Although the results are encouraging, children will require follow up to assess: long-term left ventricular function; coronary ostial growth; aortic and pulmonic anastomosis growth; long-term aortic valve (anatomical pulmonary valve) dysfunction. A learning curve is inherent to a new surgical procedure. During this learning period, both surgical technique and patient selection criteria improve, resulting in reduced morbidity and mortality. The arterial switch procedure for TGA is certainly not an exception. Expert nursing assessment and intervention during the postoperative period is imperative and may reflect on the long-term outcome of these children.