In the developing baby, the wall between the two main pumping chambers (left and right ventricles) is formed from separate tissues and sometimes they fail to meet properly in the middle.
People with DiGeorge Syndrome are usually rather small and may be slow developers. They may have a speech impediment and feeding difficulties. Some also have an immune deficiency and infections, vaccinations and blood transfusions can cause problems.
People with DiGeorge Syndrome may suffer from heart problems; including tetralogy of Fallot, pulmonary atresia - VSD, truncus arteriosus and sometimes simpler lesions like a ventricular septal defect. These are usually treatable with surgery.
Half of all children with Down syndrome have a heart problem. These include patent ductus arteriosus, atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, tetralogy of Fallot and atrioventricular septal defects. Some of these may not require surgery as some may close by themselves (patent ductus arteriosus, atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect). Tetralogy of Fallot and atrioventricular septal defects always require surgery and sometimes more than one operation is necessary.