There are cases in which ligation of the ductus arteriosus is part of a palliative or reparative procedure where the opportunity to reopen the ductus in the early period after surgery could be beneficial. This applies, particularly, to patients with borderline left ventricle in whom a biventricular repair is performed or in small babies in whom a modified Blalock–Taussig shunt is performed, particularly when a very small polytetrafluoroethylene graft is used. Conventional ductal ligation is generally irreversible. We describe a technique of ductal closure that allows easy reopening of the duct in the early postoperative period.
BarozziLBrizardCPGalatiJCKonstantinovIEBohutaLd’UdekemY. Side-to-side aorto-goretex central shunt warrants central shunt patency and pulmonary arteries growth. Ann Thorac Surg. 2011;92(4):1476–1482.
2.
D’UdekemY. The devastating consequences of thrombosis of systemic pulmonary shunts and the blind administration of aspirin. Thromb Res. 2010;126(3):163.
