PULMONARY-ARTERY AUGMENTATION WITH AUTOLOGOUS AORTIC TISSUE

Objective: To assess durability and viability of autologous aortic tis sue used to augment severe branch pulmonary artery stenosis with a nov ice surgical technique. Patients and methods: Seven patients underwent corrective surgery for complex cyanotic congenital heart disease. The ir age ranged from 3-6 years, and their weight 11-17.3 kg. All had con comitant branch pulmonary artery stenosis repaired utilizing an autolo gous patch, harvested from the patient's own aorta by excising a ring and opening it to form the patch. The aorta is reconstructed directly by end to end anastomosis. Results: One patient died in hospital. Anot her patient died at 18 months at home. The surviving five patients hav e remained well in the follow up period of mean 31 months (range 10-52 . All patients were restudied by follow up echocardiography and remain with no evidence of the aortic autograft tissue calcification or sten osis. The reconstructed aorta showed no stenosis at the site of anasto mosis, Conclusion: The intermediate term results of this novice surgic al technique appear encouraging and justify the technique, However, lo nger follow up will be required to confirm the continued growth of thi s patch material. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.