Intrapericardial Aortico-Pulmonary Artery Shunt

An operative procedure for the creation of an aorticopulmonary artery anastomosis with use of a Teflon prosthesis was developed.After laboratory trial in animals, the operation was performed in six patients varying in age from 2 months to 14 years. In all but one instance the shunt remained patent. The longest observation in dogs is 1½ years. In this animal the shunt has remained open and there has been no evidence of pulmonary or cardiac embarrassment.One child, 5 years of age, has lived 10 months after the operation. He has had marked improvement in his cyanosis and clubbing, his hematocrit value remains less than 50 per cent, and he is generally well.The operation should carry no more risk than a Blalock-Taussig or Potts procedure and is thought to be another, perhaps better, method for increasing pulmonary blood flow in cyanotic infants and children.