Subclavian pseudoaneurysm repair after Blalock-Taussig shunt placement

A 7-day-old male with tricuspid atresia, pulmonary atresia, and D-transposition of the great vessels underwent surgical placement of a modified Blalock-Taussig (mBT) shunt and was found to have a pseudoaneurysm on the follow-up echocardiogram. Surgical exploration identified a pseudoaneurysm arising from the right subclavian artery and not from the innominate artery at the site of the mBT shunt. It was concluded that this was caused by an inadvertent needlestick during central line placement. The fistula tract between the right subclavian artery and the false aneurysm was oversewn, and the postoperative course was unremarkable.