Transcatheter occlusion of a Blalock-Taussig shunt with a detachable balloon in a child.

A case of transcatheter occlusion of a Blalock-Taussig shunt with a detachable silicone filled balloon is described. This 11 year old boy had previously had a repair of tetralogy of Fallot together with ligation of a large Blalock-Taussig shunt. Though there was a good surgical result, the shunt proved to be incompletely closed leaving a significant left to right shunt. As an alternative to a further operation a silicone filled balloon was detached in the Blalock-Taussig shunt and this successfully closed the fistula.