[Reabsorbable banding. Our initial experience]

Since May 1989 we have been using a reabsorbable 3 mm, polidioxanona band for pulmonary banding instead of the dacron one. This procedure was performed in 5 patients with ages between 33 to 230 days. The diagnoses were atrioventricular canal in one case and ventricular septal defect in the other 4 cases. One of them also had vascular ring with right aortic arch, left patent ductus arterious and aberrant subclavian artery. All the patients were in a poor condition. Subsequent reoperations performed in short, medium, and long term were uncomplicated, and the technique had the added benefit of avoiding the need for pulmonary reconstruction. A close ECO Doppler follow-up is necessary to determine the best moment for definitive correction. We think that this new technique makes the banding a reliable and complications free procedure and its place should be reevaluated in the light of the current tendency for early complete correction.