Coronary interventions in congenital heart diseases: from preterm to young adult patients

The small vessel size of infants and children makes interventional treatment of impaired coronary perfusion, such as stenoses, complete occlusions, and fistulae, demanding. Materials and techniques appropriate for this young age group have to demonstrate their ability to effectively treat these lesions.

Between 2004 and 2011, 14 patients with an age of 9 days to 25 years (median 4.6 years) and a bodyweight of 1.7-65 kg (median 14 kg) underwent coronary intervention. In 3 cases, emergency revascularization of the left coronary artery (CA) was performed successfully, followed by stent implantation in 1 patient. Embolization of coronary arterial fistulae with coils and vascular plugs was effective in 10 patients. An antegrade, retrograde or combined approach to achieve the most distal device placement preserved all side branches. One infant with pulmonary atresia and an intact ventricular septum was prepared for biventricular repair by step-by-step closure of the right ventricular to the CA connections. No procedure-related deaths occurred.

Congenital and post-procedural coronary obstructive lesions can be considered for effective treatment with balloon dilation at any age as a salvage procedure. In coronaries impaired by external compression, stent implantation can restore perfusion, but long-term results are missing. Interventional closure of coronary fistulae has shown improvement of coronary arterial perfusion. The latter techniques can be used to close right ventricular to CA connections in patients with pulmonary atresia to prepare for biventricular repair, but bail-out strategies should be planned in all coronary interventions.