A balloon-dilatable pulmonary artery band in the dog. Results at one year

Increased pulmonary blood flow and pulmonary hypertension are frequent problems in infants with congenital heart disease. Although the use of pulmonary artery banding to limit pulmonary blood flow has decreased, the procedure may still be beneficial in certain forms of complex heart disease. The ability to noninvasively relieve the obstruction caused by the band may significantly reduce later operative complexity or even avoid reoperation entirely. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a balloon-dilatable pulmonary artery band. Twenty 1-week-old dogs had a band of an absorbable suture material (Vicryl; Ethicon, Inc., Somerville, N.J.) placed around the main pulmonary artery. Eight dogs underwent angioplasty 6 months after band placement and also underwent follow-up catheterizations 3 and 6 months after angioplasty. Balloon angioplasty acutely reduced both the right ventricle-pulmonary artery pressure gradient (from 37 +/- 7 mm Hg to 3 +/- 1 mm Hg, p less than 0.001) and the right ventricular systolic pressure (from 62 +/- 8 mm Hg to 32 +/- 2 mm Hg, p less than 0.01). At follow-up the gradient remained low, measuring 4 +/- 1 mm Hg at 3 months and 3 +/- 1 mm Hg at 6 months. Twelve dogs did not undergo balloon dilatation until 12 months after band placement to determine whether any obstruction persisted and whether the band could be relieved after long-term placement. These 12 dogs had progressive increases in right ventricle-pulmonary artery gradient, from 27 +/- 3 mm Hg at 6 months to 43 +/- 4 mm Hg at 12 months. Ten of these dogs underwent dilation 1 year after pulmonary artery band placement. This dilation significantly reduced the right ventricular outflow tract gradient (from 43 +/- 4 mm Hg to 1 +/- 1 mm Hg, p less than 0.001). The remaining two dogs underwent successful partial dilation of the band 12 months after placement. This study demonstrated that a pulmonary artery band of absorbable suture material maintains effective right ventricular outflow tract obstruction for at least 1 year. Additionally, the effect of the pulmonary band can be successfully and persistently relieved.