Transpulmonary surgical closure of patent ductus arteriosus with hypothermic circulatory arrest in an adult patient.

Untreated patent ductus arteriosus carries a higher risk in adults than in children, especially when the defect is large (>4.0 mm in diameter), short, or friable. Therefore, various technical precautions have been suggested for application during surgical closure of a patent ductus arteriosus in an adult. We report the case of a 47-year-old woman with a patent ductus arteriosus who underwent transpulmonary surgical closure of the ductus under hypothermic total circulatory arrest. We discuss the technique in light of the current English-language medical literature.