Catheter balloon adjustment of the pulmonary artery band: feasibility and safety.

The study aimed to assess the feasibility and safety of increasing pulmonary artery band (PAB) diameter by catheter-based PAB balloon dilation (PABBD). Eight dilations were performed between October 2006 and December 2008. Hemoclips were used to fix PABs surgically in a procedure designed to permit progressive clip dislodgment in a controlled manner. The PABBD resulted in gradual band loosening until the desired physiologic state was achieved. At time of PABBD, the patients had a mean age of 6 months (range 3-14 months) and a mean weight of 5 kg (range 2.6-7.3 kg). The median time from PAB placement until PABBD was 4.5 months (range 1-9 months). The single-balloon technique was used in seven cases (serial dilations in 5 cases) and the double-balloon technique in one case. The PABBDs were successful for all the patients, who experienced a mean saturation increase of 75-89% (P = 0.01) (mean increase of 20%), a mean PAB gradient decrease from 69 to 36 mmHg (P = 0.002) (mean decrease of 49%), and a mean band site diameter increase from 4.1 to 6.1 mm (P = 0.01) (mean increase of 45%). The only complication was transient pulmonary edema in one patient. The PABBD procedure is a feasible and safe method for increasing pulmonary blood flow in a staged manner and may eliminate the need for surgical band removal in some cases.