TOTAL ANOMALOUS PULMONARY VENOUS RETURN (TAPVR)

TAPVR is a condition in which the blood vessels from the lungs take an abnormal path back to the heart. TAPVR surgery is open heart surgery done to fix this problem.

The type of repair recommended for TAPVR depends on the specific problems with the anatomy of the blood vessels. Typically, the surgeon will form a connection between the pulmonary veins coming from the lungs and the left atrium. He or she will also close off the blood vessel into which it was previously draining. If the blood vessels are directly draining into the right atrium instead of the left, the surgeon may rebuild the atria.