Pulmonary artery banding. A treatment for infants with intractable cardiac failure due to interventricular septal defects

The technic of banding the pulmonary artery is described. Twenty infants with intractable cardiac failure secondary to interventricular septal defects have had banding with one operative and one late death. The operation is palliative, and definitive surgery probably must be done when the child is 3 to 5 years of age. Banding the pulmonary artery is a relatively safe procedure but the mortality of banding plus ventricular closure and unbanding remains to be evaluated.