The following is a summary of “Application of Foley balloon catheter in palliative surgery for pulmonary atresia with an intact ventricular septem, with additional cases of pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect and tetralogy of Fallot,” published in the November 2023 issue of Cardiology by Xu et al.
Researchers started a retrospective study to assess the effectiveness of right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction using a Foley balloon catheter as a palliative procedure for pulmonary atresia and tetralogy of Fallot in neonates.
They analyzed patients undergoing right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction on a beating heart by employing a Foley balloon catheter at their institution (September 2018 to March 2022). The Foley balloon catheter throughout the operation blocked blood flow from the right ventricular inflow tract.
The results showed that 8 patients diagnosed with pulmonary atresia and an intact ventricular septum received off-pump right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction. One patient with pulmonary atresia and a ventricular septal defect, and two with tetralogy of Fallot had on-pump beating-heart right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction. Successful procedures were achieved in all cases. Three patients with pulmonary atresia and an intact ventricular septum and two with tetralogy of Fallot underwent patent ductus arteriosus ligation without Blalock-Taussig shunt placement. Four patients with pulmonary atresia and an intact ventricular septum had an open ductus arteriosus. All patients maintained good clinical health without experiencing significant complications.
Investigators concluded that the Foley balloon catheter technique for right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction in infants with pulmonary atresia and tetralogy of Fallot is feasible and effective.
Source: bmccardiovascdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12872-023-03587-z
