Congenital diaphragmatic hernia: arterial structural changes and persistent pulmonary hypertension after surgical repair.

Some infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia who die after surgical correction have a transient postoperative period during which systemic oxygenation is adequate (honeymoon period), whereas others have persistent hypoxemia. Using morphometric techniques, we analyzed lung structure, especially the arterial bed, in seven infants who died within 1 week of surgical repair. Three infants comprised the honeymoon group, the PaO2 transiently being greater than 150 mm Hg in the descending aorta (FiO2 1.0); four infants comprised the no-honeymoon group and never had PaO2 greater than 85 mm Hg. All lungs were hypoplastic for age; with one exception, infants in the no-honeymoon group had smaller lungs. Arterial structure in the no-honeymoon group contributed to a greater reduction in pulmonary arterial cross-sectional area. Each infant in the no-honeymoon group had muscularization of intra-acinar arteries and failure of perinatal increase in compliance of small preacinar arteries, features not seen in the honeymoon group or in the normal newborn infant. In addition, compared with the honeymoon group, luminal area of preacinar and intra-acinar arteries in the no-honeymoon group was decreased by reduced external diameter or increased medial thickness. Clinical deterioration in the honeymoon group is based on a vasoconstrictive response of the hypoplastic vascular bed. Persistent hypoxemia in the no-honeymoon group is based on both severity of pulmonary hypoplasia and structural remodeling of the pulmonary arteries.