Abstract
An infant with truncus arteriosus (Van Praagh A3; isolated left pulmonary artery (LPA) and ductal origin of the LPA) had an extremely stenotic ductus arteriosus (DA) and the LPA could not be demonstrated. As a salvage operation, balloon angioplasty was performed for the stenotic DA at 8 days of age. The minimum lumen diameter of the DA increased from 0.7 to 2.7 mm. After the procedure, the LPA tree was well demonstrated and total pulmonary blood flow increased. Nitrogen inhalation was begun with a nasal positive airway pressure system in order to regulate pulmonary blood flow. Repeat balloon angioplasty was performed at 33 days of age for the restenosed DA. The infant's general condition was stabilized until undergoing pulmonary artery reconstruction and modified Blalock-Taussig shunt at 4 months of age, and definitive repair at 11 months of age. The combination of balloon angioplasty and nitrogen inhalation therapy enabled simultaneous growth of the LPA tree and regulation of total pulmonary blood flow, which could be a useful strategy for complex congenital heart diseases with unbalanced pulmonary blood flow.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
