Results of palliative operations in infants with pseudotruncus arteriosus

A palliative procedure in patients with pulmonary atresia with VSD should improve arterial oxygen saturation, allow growth and development, and promotes a uniform dilatation of the pulmonary arteries. Thirty-three severely symptomatic patients, ranging from 5 days to 24 mths of age and from 2,4 to 11 kg of weight underwent a variety of palliative operations, including the ascending aorta-right pulmonary artery shunt (intrapericardial: 15 cases; extrapericardial: 14 cases), the Blalock shunt (4 cases). In two cases, both with absence of the left pulmonary artery, a Waterston shunt was performed using cardiopulmonary by-pass. The operative mortality was 20%. In two patients an additional shunt procedure was deemed necessary due to persistent cyanosis. All the survivors improved in terms of arterial oxygen saturation, growth and development. There were no late deaths (mean follow-up: 23 months).