Intracardiac repair after previous pulmonary artery banding.

Abstract

Surgical treatment of infants with a large ventricular septal defect (VSD) unresponsive to medical therapy is sometimes indicated. Pulmonary artery banding originally described by Muller in 19521 has proven to be an adequate operation for controlling high pulmonary flow. In the past, a two staged procedure consisting of pulmonary artery banding followed by debanding and VSD closure has been used.2 More recently primary closure during infancy using deep hypothermia has been advocated.3 We have reviewed the results of debanding and VSD closure in an attempt to set a standard with which to compare primary closure which we now use.