One of the key success factors of the surgical treatment of complex congenital heart defects is a detailed preoperative exploration. The main issue is the lack of detailed visibility of the intracardiac anatomical structures. 2D echocardiography provides a partial view and doesn’t provide fine anatomical details. Novel imagery technology with 3D cardiac tomography (CT) may represent a valuable tool to explore complex congenital heart defects.

To determine the quality and limitations of this technique to study the intracardiac anatomy in complex outflow tract defects. The secondary objective is to generate the CT scan views in preoperative assessment fitting precisely to the surgical views.

We performed CT scans with high resolution in 15 heart specimens with double outlet right ventricle. All 3D images were produced with a 3D reconstruction platform from Paris Descartes University. The 3D view from the right ventricle showed the anatomic details for all hearts. We described the VSD, its localization, borders and surface. We described also the relationship with the aorta and the pulmonary trunk and the conal septum (length and orientation). The 3D view from the right atrium was more difficult then expected and needs to be improved.

This study summarizes the role of 3D scan reconstruction in congenital heart diseases as an imaging modality to increase the precision of preoperative assessment.