Use of microporous expanded polytetrafluoroethylene grafts for aorta-pulmonary shunts in infants with complex cyanotic heart disease. A report of seven cases.

Seven cyanotic infants in our institution have undergone central aorta--pulmonary artery shunt operations with a microporous expanded polytetrafluoroethlene (PTFE) graft. All of these patients have had pulmonary atresia, in four cases associated with endocardial cushion type defects. Four patients have had excellent palliation for up to 13 months. Congestive heart failure and kinking of the pulmonary artery, frequently seen with other types of central aorta-pulmonary shunts, have not been a problem. Until further experience is gained with this procedure, however, we reserve its use to the occasional cyanotic infant in whom neither open-heart repair or the Blalock-Taussig shunt is feasible.