The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jan 1981
Modified Blalock-Taussig shunt. Use of subclavian artery orifice as flow regulator in prosthetic systemic-pulmonary artery shunts.
Between April, 1975, and December, 1979, 99 modified Blalock-Taussig shunts (MBTSs) were carried out at The Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street. The operation consists of interposing between the subclavian artery and the pulmonary artery a prosthesis of greater diameter than that of the subclavian artery. The first 13 operations were performed with a prosthesis of woven Dacron. ⋯ All these patients were operated upon in infancy, four of them in the neonatal period. Although a longer follow-up is necessary to assess the validity of these shunts, the early results are encouraging. We believe we can now recommend MBTS as an alternative when the classical Blalock-Taussig shunt is considered unsuitable.