Aorta-pulmonary artery shunts with expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tube.
Ten patients underwent an aortapulmonary artery shunt with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tube between December, 1976, and October, 1977. Five of them were less than 1 month old. The diameter of the PTFE tube was 5 mm in 9 patients and 4 mm in 1 patient. Seven patients survived the operation. One of them had a clotted shunt, which was reoperated on successfully. Three patients died in the postoperative period, and all had a patent shunt. Overall patency was 90% (9/10). Congestive heart failure refractory to medical treatment developed in 1 patient with a patent Blalock-Taussig and PTFE shunt. In our institution, the Blalock-Taussig shunt is the procedure of choice. The PTFE shunt is used when the anatomy of a patient is unsuitable for a Blalock-Taussig shunt. A tube diameter of 5 mm is optimal for infants when further growth is considered, even if digitalization is necessary to control congestive heart failure.
D001011:Aorta / Q000601:surgery*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003330:Coronary Vessel Anomalies / Q000601:surgery; D004374:Ductus Arteriosus, Patent / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000601:surgery*; D006345:Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000601:surgery*; D011664:Pulmonary Valve / Q000002:abnormalities; D013771:Tetralogy of Fallot / Q000601:surgery; D014188:Transposition of Great Vessels / Q000601:surgery
D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene