BOOK AN APPOINTMENT FOR RASTELLI PROCEDURE
The Rastelli procedure is used to treat some patients with D-TGA (also called “transposition of the great arteries”). Children with this condition are born with the main blood vessels coming off the heart reversed. The pulmonary artery usually carries blue blood to the lungs to get oxygen, while the aorta usually carries red blood to the rest of the organs and tissues of the body. When these vessels are reversed, surgery is needed to allow normal blood flow.
Surgical treatment can vary depending on your child’s situation: Some patients with D-TGA might have an operation called the arterial switch or other operations. The Rastelli procedure is used to treat patients who have both transposition of the great arteries and ventricular septal defect (hole between the two main pumping chambers of the heart).
What is the Rastelli procedure?
With the Rastelli procedure, the surgeon uses a synthetic patch positioned so it closes the ventricular septal defect (VSD) in a way that directs blood from the left ventricle to the aorta. This allows red blood to go to the organs of the body. The surgeon also connects a conduit (a tube with a valve made of synthetic material or human or animal tissue) to direct blood from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery so that blood can reach the lungs for oxygenation.