Abstract： Objective To evaluate clinical outcomes of pulmonary artery banding for morphologic left ventricular training in corrected transposition of the great arteries.?Methods?A total of 89 patients with corrected transposition of the great arteries underwent surgical repair in Shanghai Children’s Medical Center from January 2007 to December 2011 year. Among them, 11 patients underwent pulmonary artery banding, whose clinical records were retrospectively analyzed. Except that one patient was 12 years, all other patients were 3 to 42 （16.40±11.67） months old and had a body weight of 6 to 32 （11.70±7.20）kg. All the patients were diagnosed by echocardiogram and angiocardiogram.?Results?There was no postoperative death after pulmonary artery banding in 11 patients. The pulmonary arterial pressure/systemic blood pressure ratio （Pp/Ps） was 0.3 to 0.6 （0.44±0.09） preoperatively and 0.6 to 0.8 （0.70±0.04） postoperatively with statistical difference （P＜0.01）. Tricuspid regurgitation was mild in 2 （18.2%） patients, moderate in 5 （45.4%）, severe in 4 （36.4%）preoperatively，and none in 2（18.2%）patients, mild in 7 （63.6%），and mild to moderate in 2 （18.2%）postoperatively. Five patients underwent staged double-switch operation after pulmonary artery banding at 15.20±8.31 months, and 1 patient died. The other 6 patients were followed up for 18.83±3.43 months, and echocardiogram showed tricuspid regurgitation as trivial in 2 （33.3%）, mild in 3 （50.0%）, and moderate in 1 （16.7%）patient.?Conclusions?In patients with corrected transposition of the great arteries, pulmonary artery banding is helpful to reduce tricuspid regurgitation, and morphologic left ventricle can be trained for staged double-switch operation with good clinical outcomes. It is important to follow up these patients regularly to evaluate their morphologic left ventricular function and tricuspid regurgitation after pulmonary artery banding.
Objective To summarize our clinical experience of pulmonary artery banding （PAB） for the treatment of complex congenital heart diseases as a palliative procedure.?Methods?From January 1997 to November 2010, 138 patients with complex congenital heart diseases underwent PAB in Fu Wai Hospital. There were 87 male patients and 51 female patients with their age of 22.2±26.5 months and average body weight of 7.5±4.6 kg. All the 138 patients were divided into 3 groups according to the purpose of PAB：left ventricular retraining （group 1, n=55）, initial procedure for functional single ventricle with unobstructed pulmonary blood flow （group 2, n=32） and initial palliative procedure followed by later biventricular repair （group 3, n=51）. The intraoperative and postoperative clinical parameters of all participants were observed, and follow-up was made for these 3 groups of patients.?Results?The in-hospital mortality of PAB was 5.1% （7/138）. Three patients underwent re-banding procedure to adjust the size of banding. In group 1, there was 1 postoperative death. Among the 55 patients, 36 patients with dextro-transposition of great arteries received PAB at an average age of 19.6±29.5 months, 29 patients of whom underwent concomitant modified Blalock-Taussig shunt. After an average training interval for 42 days, 83.3% of them（30/36）successfully received arterial switch operation. The other 19 patients in group 1 with isolated corrected transposition of great arteries received PAB at an average age of 45.3±27.2 months. Afteran average training interval for 9 months, 42.1% of them （8/19） successfully received double-switch operation. In group 2, there was 2 postoperative death. Thirty-two patients with functional single ventricle and unobstructed pulmonary blood flow received PAB at an average age of 14.1±14.9 months. Their postoperative mean pulmonary artery pressure decreased significantly from 34.00±10.00 mm Hg to 23.00±7.40 mm Hg, and their oxygen saturation of blood （SpO2） significantly decreased from 92.60%±5.90% to 83.30%±6.30%. After a median interval of 2 years, 18.8% of them （6/32） underwent right heart bypass operation. In group 3, there was 4 postoperative death. Fifty-one patients received PAB at an average age of 20.60±25.60 months. After PAB procedure, the ratio of systolic pulmonary artery pressure and systolic blood pressure significantly decreased from 0.81±0.14 to 0.46±0.15, and their SpO2 significantly decreased from 93.10%±7.60% to 85.00%±10.00%. After a median interval of 6 months, 23.5% of them （12/51） received biventricular repair.?ConclusionAlthough PAB is a palliative procedure with comparatively high risks, it still plays an indispensable role in terms of protecting pulmonary vascular beds, retraining ventricular function and two-stage surgical correction for the treatment of complex congenital heart diseases.
Objective To review and summarize the clinical outcomes of neonatal D-transposition of the great arteries by rapid two-stage arterial switch operation. Methods Between September 2002 and May 2003, five neonates with D-transposition of the great arteries were repaired by rapid two-stage arterial switch operation. The operative age was 83.0±72.2 day and weight was 4.7±0.9 kg. Because these patients came to the hospital late, the left ventricle was unable to accommodate the systemic pressure, so the left ventricle had to be prepared by pulmonary artery banding and systemic-pulmonary arterial shunt. After 6-9 days, the arterial switch procedure was performed. Results At first stage, one patient died of supraventricular tachycardia and oliguria after peritoneal dialysis. Four patients were repaired by arterial switch operation with no death. These patients were followed up for 2 to 10 months and had good development. The echocardiogram showed that there were no intracardiac residual shunt , the aorta and pulmonary artery anastomosis had no obstruction . The heart function was good, ejection fraction 0.68-0.77,fractional shortening 0.24-0.37. One patient had mild aortic valve regurgitation. Conclusion Rapid two-stage arterial switch operation is the best way for neonatal D-transposition of the great arteries that the left ventricle was unable to accommodate the systemic pressure.