title: Coronary artery fistula ligation in a child with use of the Starfish Heart Positioner.
abstract: The Starfish Heart Positioner aids off-pump coronary artery surgery in adult patients by providing posterior cardiac exposure without incurring hemodynamic instability. Herein, we describe its use in a 17-month-old girl who had a right coronary artery fistula that drained to the right ventricle. Use of the device enabled exposure that afforded closure of the fistula without cardiopulmonary bypass. The patient was discharged from the hospital 2 days postoperatively. Six weeks later, she was well, and echocardiography showed no residual fistulous flow.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama 35249-6852, USA. pearce@uab.edu
authors.forename: F Bennett
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Pearce
authors.forename: William S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: McMahon
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Alten
authors.forename: James K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kirklin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003330:Coronary Vessel Anomalies / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D018618:Echocardiography, Doppler, Color; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008026:Ligation; D056346:Sternotomy; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016157:Vascular Fistula / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*