Between February 1987 and April 1994, 30 modified Blalock-Taussing shunts (MBTS) were carried out at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery of the Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center.
The operation consists of interposing between the subclavian artery and the pulmonary artery a polytetrafluoroethylene graft.
There were 19 boys and 11 girls.
The average age at the time of shunt construction was 14 months (range 4 days to 5 years).
Seventy-six percent (23/30) were less than 1 year of age.
Cardiac defects treated with MBTS included tetralogy of Fallot (10), pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect (8), pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (4), univentricular heart (3), and other complex cardiac anomalies (5).
Prosthesis of 4mm were used in 13 cases, and 5 mm in 17.
Of the 30 operations, 21 were performed on the right side and 9 on the left side.
The hemoglobin level decreased from 21.1 gm/dl preoperatively to 16.3 gm/dl postoperatively and systemic oxygen saturation level increased from 60.5% preoperatively to 85.4% postoperatively.
In the 30 patients who received MBTS, there were one early (3%) and three late deaths (10%).
Seven patients have had an corrective operation and two patient required second palliative procedure.
The remaining patients are awaiting further operation with ingestion of aspirin (5 mg/kg/day) as an antiplatelet agent.
These results indicate that the MBTS provide excellent palliation at a low operative mortality for most patients.
(Korean J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1995;28:754-8)
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