Relief of Right Ventricle to Pulmonary Artery Conduit Compression by Chest Wall Resection

Many congenital heart defects require reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract utilizing a right ventricle to pulmonary artery conduit. One of the challenges with these conduits is the development of conduit stenosis. This phenomenon is quite common and typically results from a combination of progressive calcification, fibrosis, and/or the relative size mismatch that occurs with patient growth. However, extrinsic compression is much less common and a much more difficult problem to address. Chest wall resection and reconstruction is an option for alleviating external conduit compression that provides good results.