Minimally-Invasive-Pulmonary-Artery Banding: 
A New Approach

Anil Bhan, Saket Agarwal, Pravin Saxena, Panangipalli Venugopal

Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, 
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi

Background: A variety of approaches have been described for banding of the pulmonary artery. The indications for this procedure are limited; however in developing countries, many patients still need pulmonary artery banding for a variety of reasons. We describe a new approach, minimally invasive, using only a split in the manubrium sterni to conduct the procedure. 

Methods and Results: Between January 2000 and May 2002, 19 patients who had undergone pulmonary artery banding using a minimally invasive technique were compared with 20 cases of pulmonary artery banding performed by the conventional technique. The mortality was similar in the two groups (p=0.45). The period of intubation and duration of intensive care unit stay were significantly shorter in the minimally invasive group (p=0.015 and 0.002, respectively). The duration of hospital stay was not significantly different between the 2 groups (p=0.139). In the minimally invasive group, three patients underwent subsequent reoperation.

Conclusions: Minimally invasive pulmonary artery banding is useful in babies with high-flow cardiac lesions and cardiac cachexia. (Indian Heart J 2004; 56: 37-39) 

Key Words: Congenital heart disease, Pulmonary artery banding, Minimally invasive surgery