Pulmonary Artery (PA) Banding Surgery in Turkey
Pulmonary artery banding (PAB) is a palliative surgical treatment procedure used by congenital heart surgeons as a staged solution to congenital heart defects operative correction. This procedure has been commonly used in the past as an initial surgical intervention for children born with cardiac defects marked by shunting from left to right and overcirculation of the lungs.
The primary objective of performing PAB is to reduce excessive pulmonary blood flow and to prevent hypertrophy and irreversible (fixed) pulmonary hypertension from the pulmonary vasculature.
The operation consists of a thoracotomy in which the pulmonary artery is exposed. It then sutures a constrictive band around the pulmonary artery. The PA band decreases PA diameter and thereby restricts the volume of blood pumped into the lungs.
The operation reduces the flow of blood from 1/2 to 1/3 of the volume before. Regardless of the volume limit, PA blood pressure distal to the band decreases. Pulmonary artery pressure reductions are usually sought from 50 per cent to 70 per cent.
