ORIGINAL ARTICLE Catch-up growth in term and preterm infants after surgical closure of ventricular septal defect in the first year of life Luísa Correia Martins 1 & Rita Lourenço 1 & Susana Cordeiro 2 & Nuno Carvalho 2 & Inês Mendes 2 & Marisa Loureiro 3 & Miguel Patrício 3 & Rui Anjos 2 Received: 17 June 2015 /Revised: 17 November 2015 /Accepted: 26 November 2015 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015 Abstract Growth impairment in infants with unrestrictive ventricular septal defects (VSD) is common, and normalisa- tion of growth has been reported after surgical correction. Literature is inconsistent about growth velocity after surgery in term and preterm infants. We aimed to establish the pattern of catch-up growth in term and preterm infants submitted to VSD surgical correction before 1 year of age. Fifty-two in- fants (41 term, 11 preterm) were studied. Anthropometric data at birth, surgery and 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after surgery were collected retrospectively. Statistic analyses were performed in SPSS® version 21. At the time of surgery, growth was severe- ly impaired in term and preterm infants. Term infants underwent a period of fast growth within the first 6 months after surgery, achieving posteriorly a normal growth pattern, as both weight and height were not significantly different from the reference population at 24 months after surgery. Preterms caught-up later than term infants but with a significant weight gain within 3 months after surgery. Conclusion: Early surgical repair of VSD leads to a signif- icant acceleration of growth within 3 to 6 months after surgery, for both groups. What is Known: • Growth impairment in infants with unrestrictive ventricular septal defects is well documented in literature. • Surgical correction in the first months of life is the current option for most ventricular septal defects, leading to a more favourable growth pattern. • Rapid growth during infancy may be associated with the development of insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, obesity and cardiovascular disease later in life. What is New: • Literature is inconsistent about catch-up growth velocities after ven- tricular correction for term infants. • Preterm infants have never been enrolled in previous studies that aimed to establish a pattern of growth after surgery. • This group of children, who underwent a rapid post-surgery catch-up growth that follows a period of failure to thrive, may be at a higher risk of insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Keywords Ventricular septal defect . Catch-up growth . Term infant . Preterm infant Communicated by Jaan Toelen * Luísa Correia Martins luzinha-lm@hotmail.com Rita Lourenço ritadafonsecalourenco@gmail.com Susana Cordeiro sucordeiro86@gmail.com Nuno Carvalho nunocarvalho@gmail.com Inês Mendes inescarmomendes@gmail.com Marisa Loureiro marisa.c.loureiro@gmail.com Miguel Patrício miguelpatricio@gmail.com Rui Anjos ranjos@chlo.min-saude.pt 1 Pediatric Department, Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo de Ponta Delgada, EPE, Avenida D. Manuel I, Ponta Delgada, 9500-370 São Miguel, Azores, Portugal 2 Pediatric Cardiology Department, Hospital de Santa Cruz, Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Ocidental, EPE, Avenida Prof. Reinaldo dos Santos, Carnaxide, 2790-134 Lisbon, Portugal 3 Laboratory of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, IBILI-Faculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Azinhaga de Santa Comba-Celas, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal Eur J Pediatr DOI 10.1007/s00431-015-2676-4