A Long-Term Survivor with Tetralogy of Fallot Treated Only with the Classical Blalock-Taussig Shunt

Pulmonary annulus growth after the modified Blalock-Taussig shunt in tetralogy of Fallot.

BACKGROUND In tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), it is well known that postoperative pulmonary regurgitation reduces right ventricular function during long-term follow-up. Complete repair without a transannular patch should help avoid pulmonary regurgitation. Recently, primary complete repair has been preferred to the staged repair with use of a Blalock-Taussig shunt (BTS) even in neonates or small inf...

The Blalock and Taussig Shunt Revisited

The systemic to pulmonary artery shunts are done as palliative procedures for cyanotic congenital heart diseases ranging from simple tetralogy of Fallots (TOFs)/pulmonary atresia (PA) to complex univentricular hearts. They allow growth of pulmonary arteries and maintain regulated blood flow to the lungs till a proper age and body weight suitable for definitive corrective repair is reached. We h...

Blalock-Taussig anastomosis in 126 patients with Fallot's tetralogy.

False aneurysm following modified Blalock-Taussig shunt.

A nine month old infant with life threatening tracheal compression due to a Blalock-Taussig shunt aneurysm is described. Successful surgical management is discussed.

Pseudoaneurysm following modified Blalock Taussig shunt.

The modified Blalock-Taussig (BT) shunt is a common palliative procedure for congenital cyanotic heart disease (CHD) with diminished pulmonary blood flow(1). In developing countries, definitive surgery usually gets delayed due to limited resources and expertise(2). Children with cyanotic CHD and BT shunt often present to the pediatrician resulting in some of the complications of BT shunt being ...