Palliative Procedures for Congenital Heart Disease: Imaging Findings and Complications

Palliative procedures are performed for congenital heart diseases that are not amenable for definitive surgical procedures or as a component of hybrid procedures along with transcatheter interventions. Multimodality imaging plays an important role in the follow-up of these palliative procedures, mainly for the timely detection of complications and for planning any subsequent palliative or definitive procedure. Echocardiography is the first-line imaging modality, with CT and MRI used as complementary techniques in indeterminate cases. MRI provides anatomic, functional, flow, and tissue characterization information. CT is performed for the evaluation of vascular anatomy and when MRI cannot be performed due to contraindications, challenges, or artifacts. The modified Blalock-Taussig shunt procedure is the most common systemic-pulmonary artery (PA) shunt procedure, with thrombus being the most serious complication. Other complications of systemic-PA shunts include shunt stenosis, infection, pulmonary overcirculation, and cardiac failure. The Glenn shunt procedure is the second stage of palliation in single ventricle physiology, with thrombus, stenosis, superior vena cava syndrome, and infection being the common complications. The Fontan shunt procedure is the third stage of palliation in single ventricle physiology. Complications can be cardiovascular (heart failure, valve regurgitation, thromboembolism, shunt stenosis, arteriovenous malformation), venolymphatic (collaterals, protein-losing enteropathy, plastic bronchitis), or hepatic (congestion, cirrhosis, portal hypertension). PA banding is used to decrease pulmonary flow or to train the systemic ventricle. Complications include stenosis, thrombus, erosion, pseudoaneurysm, and subaortic obstruction. Atrial septostomy and atrial switch procedures are performed for increasing intracardiac mixing. Complications of atrial septostomy can be mechanical, traumatic, embolic, or electrical. Complications of the atrial switch procedure include baffle stenosis, baffle leak, and systemic ventricle failure. The authors review the role of multimodality imaging in the evaluation of these palliative procedures. ^© RSNA, 2023 See the invited commentary by Bardo and Popescu in this issue. Quiz questions for this article are available through the Online Learning Center.