Staged rehabilitation of ductal origin of the left pulmonary artery in an infant Fallot's tetralogy.

Isolation of a branch pulmonary artery from ductal closure is an unusual finding in patients with tetralogy of Fallot. A case report of a newborn is presented where the closing arterial duct was balloon-dilated and stented to reestablish blood supply to the affected lung as a strategy of improving systemic saturations and promoting the growth of the hiliar branch pulmonary artery. Five months after the initial palliation, complete surgical repair with stent removal was successfully achieved. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.