Impaired Cerebral Perfusion After Bilateral Pulmonary Arterial Banding in Patients With Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome

Recent studies have shown that bilateral pulmonary artery banding (bil-PAB) for hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is not superior to the neonatal Norwood procedure in terms of overall mortality and neurodevelopmental outcome. We tested our hypothesis that bil-PAB is associated with negative hemodynamic effects on cerebral circulation.The acute effects of bil-PAB on cerebral circulation were assessed by serial measurements of cerebral Doppler flow velocities in 9 patients immediately after bil-PAB. To evaluate the chronic effects of bil-PAB on cerebral perfusion, the oxygen demand-supply balance between the lower and upper body, designated as oxygenation balance index (OBI), was calculated in another set of 13 patients using oxymetric data before stage II palliation. Data were compared with those of 13 patients who underwent the Norwood operation.The preoperative cerebral blood flow velocities of the patients were at the lowest levels reported in healthy neonates. Bil-PAB did not increase cerebral blood flow in the first week after the procedure. OBI was significantly lower in patients treated with bil-PAB (p0.005) than in those treated with the Norwood procedure, indicating impaired cerebral perfusion after bil-PAB. Importantly, the OBI in the bil-PAB group, but not in the Norwood group, significantly decreased with time after the procedure. In addition, cerebral perfusion was more vulnerable to the changes in pulmonary and systemic blood flow in the bil-PAB group than in the Norwood group.A hybrid approach followed by comprehensive stage II palliation may not be an optimal strategy for HLHS and should be evaluated further.