Stent Implantation to Maintain Patency of a Stenosed Blalock Taussig Shunt

Abstract

A 14-year-old female with complex congenital heart disease underwent a left-sided classical Blalock Taussig (BT) shunt 15 days after birth. Ten years after the operation her oxygen saturation had decreased significantly. An angiography revealed a severely stenosed BT shunt. Balloon dilation including implantation of a 6 x 13 mm stent was performed successfully. Immediately after intervention, oxygen saturation rose from 55% to 80 84% in room air. Follow-up at a year and a half later showed the classical BT shunt was still patent.

Stenting and overdilating small Gore‐Tex vascular grafts in complex congenital heart disease

“…For patients that develop graft obstruction, the risk of surgery versus catheter intervention must be weighed. Literature to date has reported the risks of shunt revision | 77 [2][3][4] and the feasibility of percutaneous graft stenting [1,3,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] and overdilation [19][20][21][22]. This single-center cohort study now contributes a large experience of stent interventions and overdilation practice for small Gore-Tex ® grafts over a range of indications: addressing safety, technical results, and long-term clinical impact.…”

“…Balloon angioplasty to treat acutely stenosed shunts and conduits has been reported since the 1990s [5][6][7][8][9][10]. This was rapidly replaced by stent implantation (due to safety concerns), described in case reports and small series [1,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Of late, graft stenting has emerged as an important interstage intervention [19], particularly in centers utilizing the Sano modification to classical Norwood [1,3,11].…”

Transcatheter stenting of the systemic‐to‐pulmonary artery shunt: A 7‐year experience from a single tertiary center

“…For those patients who are deemed poor surgical candidates yet remain palliated with a SPS indefinitely, the use of transcatheter stent implantation may prevent or postpone the need for surgical re‐intervention. Furthermore, stent implantation as a palliative procedure in these high‐risk surgical candidates has been shown to offer significant clinical improvement . Of note, not all patients will display overt clinical signs of shunt failure.…”

63-year Survival after Blalock-Taussig Shunt Operation in a Patient with Single Ventricle, Tricuspid Atresia, and Pulmonary Stenosis

“…Stenosis and occlusions of the B‐T shunt have been described in rare cases in infants and young adults 8,9 as well as their treatment with balloon dilation or implantation of stents. In the present case, a stent implantation was performed in a 60‐year‐old classical B‐T shunt.…”