title: Blalock-taussig anastomosis: the preferred shunt in infants and newborns.
abstract: The Blalock-Taussig anastomosis (B-T shunt) has been regarded as an unsatisfactory procedure for infants and newborns with severe pulmonary oligemia. With use of microsurgical technique, B-T shunts were constructed in 11 infants under 6 months of age, six of whom were less than 1 month old (2 to 30 days). Weights ranged from 2.4 to 5.6 kg. Diagnoses included transposition of the great arteries (4), tetralogy of Fallot (4), pulmonary arterial atresia (2), and Taussig-Bing syndrome (1). There was no operative mortality; perioperative morbidity included paralysis of the diaphragm (2), Horner's syndrome (1), superficial wound dehiscence (1), congestive heart failure (1), and prolonged respiratory failure requiring ventilation assistance for more than 5 days (2). There has been one late death in the group at 2 months post-shunt. All surviving patients have had satisfactory palliation of cyanosis and hypoxemia. In view of the pulmonary artery scarring and kinking that follows the Waterston and Potts shunts, it is concluded that the Blalock-Taussig shunt is a reliable and preferable technique for palliation of pulmonary oligemia in infants and newborns.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, 4960 Audubon, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Marbarger
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Sandza
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Weldon
mesh_terms: D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018633:Pulmonary Atresia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D011859:Radiography; D015635:Radionuclide Ventriculography; D013771:Tetralogy of Fallot / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D014188:Transposition of Great Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery