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Updated: Jan 19, 2026
Implantation of Total Artificial Heart in Congenital Heart Disease
Published on: July 18, 2014
Lecompte Procedure for Relief of Severe Airway Compression in Children With Congenital Heart Disease
Christina L Greene1, Richard D Mainwaring1, Douglas Sidell2
1Division of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
Insights
The Lecompte procedure effectively relieved severe airway compression in children with congenital heart disease. This surgical option demonstrated positive outcomes without complications or mortality in a recent study.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Surgery
- Cardiology
- Thoracic Surgery
Background:
- Congenital heart disease (CHD) can cause severe airway compression, complicating management.
- Airway compression may be present before or after surgical repair of CHD.
Observation:
- A retrospective review of ten pediatric patients undergoing the Lecompte procedure for severe airway compression was conducted.
- Patients had various CHDs, including absent pulmonary valve syndrome, pulmonary atresia with VSD, and post-aortic arch surgery.
- The median age at presentation was two years.
Findings:
- The Lecompte procedure was performed without significant complications or operative mortality.
- Median time to extubation was 9.5 days.
- No patients required re-intervention for airway obstruction.
Implications:
- The Lecompte procedure is a viable surgical option for severe airway compression in pediatric patients with CHD.
- The procedure demonstrated clinical effectiveness in relieving airway obstruction in this patient cohort.
Purpose:
Children with congenital heart disease may present with severe airway compression prior to any surgical procedure or may develop airway compression following their surgical procedure. This combination of congenital heart defect and airway compression poses a significant management challenge. The purpose of this study was to review our experience with the Lecompte procedure for relief of severe airway compression.
Methods:
This was a retrospective review of ten patients who underwent a Lecompte procedure for relief of severe airway compression over the past nine years (2010-2018). Three patients with absent pulmonary valve syndrome presented with severe symptoms prior to any surgical procedure. Seven patients presented with symptoms of airway compression following repair of their congenital heart defects (one with absent pulmonary valve syndrome, three patients had repair of pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect, and three patients had undergone aortic arch surgery). The median age at presentation was two years (range: one day to seven years).
Results:
The ten patients underwent a Lecompte procedure without any significant complications or operative mortality. The median interval between the surgical procedure and extubation was 9.5 days. No patients have required any further interventions for relief of airway obstruction.
Conclusions:
The Lecompte procedure is a surgical option for young children who present with severe airway compression. The patients in this series responded well to the Lecompte procedure as evidenced by clinical relief of airway compression.
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