The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Vol 70, 921-927, Copyright © 1975 by The American Association for Thoracic Surgery and The Western Thoracic Surgical Association
Systemic-pulmonary artery anastomoses in infancy
WH Neches, JG Naifeh, SC Park, CC Lenox, JR Zuberbuhler, RD Siewers, RG Pontius and HT Bahnson
Over the last 10 years, 142 systemic-pulmonary artery anastomoses were
performed in 134 infants under 1 year of age. These included shunts from
the subclavian artery (46 per cent), ascending aorta (41 per cent),
descending aorta (9 per cent), and superior vena cava (1 per cent) to the
pulmonary artery. Ninety-six (72 per cent) of the infants were less than 4
months of age at the time of the initial procedure, and one half were less
than 1 month old. When groups of patients were compared according to
diagnosis and age at the time of operation, the immediate and long-term
results of the subclavian-pulmonary artery (Blalock-Taussig) anastomosis
were better than the results with the other procedures. In view of the ease
of closure of this anastomosis at the time of corrective surgery, as well
as the recent further improvement of vascular surgical techniques, the
Blalock-Taussig shunt is the procedure of choice in most infants requiring
a systemic- pulmonary artery anastomosis, even during the early months of
life.
