Effects of Balloon Pulmonary Valvuloplasty as Preoperative Palliation for Tetralogy of Fallot

ObjectivesWe investigated the effect of balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty (BPV) as a palliative procedure for patients with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). MethodsThis was a retrospective single-center study conducted between 2008 and 2014. We classified patients into three groups according to palliation: treatment with BPV (group I), with a Blalock-Taussig shunt (group II), and with infundibulectomy (group III). The growth of the pulmonary valve (PV) annulus and need for transannular patching (TAP) during total correction were compared between groups. ResultsForty-eight patients were enrolled: 31, 10, and 7 in groups I, II, and III, respectively. The mean ages at palliation were 26.323.6, 21.5 +/- 16.4, and 15.2 +/- 4.2 days in groups I, II, and III, respectively (P=.867). The success rate of BPV was 90.3%. The initial PV z-score before palliation did not differ between groups I, II, and III (-3.14 +/- 1.44, -3.84 +/- 1.47, and -3.71 +/- 1.68; P=.494); the preoperative PV z-score before total correction was larger in group I than in group II (-1.19 +/- 1.14 and -3.05 +/- 1.19; P=.001), and also larger in group III than in group II (group III: -1.10 +/- 0.90; P=.003). The change in pulse oxygen saturation differed significantly between the three groups (P=.031), particularly between groups I and II (P=.010), and the change in PV z-score was greater in groups I and III than in group II (P<.001). TAP during total correction was performed in 29.0%, 90.0%, and 16.7% of groups I, II, and III, respectively (P=.001; group I vs. II, P=.001; group II vs. III, P=.008). ConclusionBPV was an effective and safe palliation that increased pulmonary blood flow and promoted growth of the PV annulus in selected symptomatic newborns with TOF.