Transposition of the Great Arteries, D-Type

Nancy McDaniel M.D.

The heart in this defect has four chambers and four valves.

The problem in this defect is that the two main arteries leaving the heart come off the wrong pumping chamber. The heart has formed such that the aorta comes off the right pumping chamber and the lung artery comes off the left pumping chamber. This makes the blue blood go back to the body and red blood go back to the lungs. This defect makes the baby sick at birth.

Medicine can be given to help the baby be less blue (cyanotic).

At about one week of life, a surgery is done to move the main blood vessels into the correct position. This operation is called an arterial switch.

1. Aorta anterior and to the right of the pulmonary artery and arises from the right ventricle
2. Pulmonary artery posterior and to the left of the aorta and arises from the left ventricle
3. Patent ductus arteriosus
4. Patent foramen ovale

Normal Heart