Palliating severe arteriovenous fistulae using absorbable pulmonary artery bands.

We report the use of an absorbable pulmonary artery band to limit postoperative cyanosis due to severe pulmonary arteriovenous fistulae in a 5-year-old girl with post-Fontan palliation takedown to a two-ventricle repair. At 1-year postoperatively, her fistulae had nearly resolved with no distortion of her pulmonary artery anatomy. This case demonstrates a novel approach to limiting cyanosis while pulmonary arteriovenous fistulae resolved after redirection of hepatic blood flow to the affected lung. Copyright (c) 2010 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.