Efficacy and outcomes of pulmonary artery banding: Our experience in Azerbaijan

Abstract

Aim: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 35 patients with various congenital heart defects who underwent pulmonary artery banding (PAB) between January 2018 and September 2023. Our objective was to evaluate the outcomes of PAB and discuss its application in a staged approach for these patients. Material and Methods: The median age at PAB was 5 months (range: 2 to 20 months) with a median weight of 5.2 kg (range: 3 to 9 kg). Results: The hospital and total mortality rates were 11.4% (4). The median intensive care unit stay was 2 days (range: 1 to 22 days), and the median hospital stay was 5 days (range: 5 to 36 days). The second stage (either total correction or cava-pulmonary anastomosis) was achieved in 40% (14/35) of patients at a median age of 15 months. The mean interval to repair was 8 months, with 12 out of 14 patients undergoing complete biventricular repair. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that PAB could be performed with acceptable outcomes, serving as a viable palliative measure for neonates and extremely small infants who are at high risk for cardiopulmonary bypass. Our study results exhibit a comparable trend to previously reported findings, emphasizing the importance of PAB in managing congenital heart malformations characterized by increased pulmonary blood flow. While the effectiveness of PAB has been validated in our study, future investigations could delve into refining surgical protocols, optimizing band adjustment techniques, and exploring potential preventive measures for common postoperative complications.