Surgically created shunts in congenital heart disease

Surgically created shunts in congenital heart disease

Classic Blalock-Taussig shunt is an end to side anastomosis of the subclavian artery to the pulmonary artery. In modified Blalock-Taussig shunt, a Gore-Tex tube graft is used to connect the subclavian artery to the pulmonary artery.
Bidirectional Glenn procedure is an end to side anastomosis of superior vena cava to the right pulmonary artery. This helps flow into both pulmonary arteries. In the classic Glenn procedure, it is an end to end anastomosis of the superior vena cava to the right pulmonary artery so that the superior vena caval venous blood does not reach the left pulmonary artery.

Waterston-Cooley shunt is seldom done these days as it has a propensity to produce pulmonary hypertension. It is a shunt connecting the ascending aorta to right pulmonary artery using a punch hole between the vessels.
Potts shunt is also seldom done these days for similar reasons. It is a connection between the descending aorta and left pulmonary artery.

In Davidson shunt, which is also called a “central shunt,” a prosthetic graft material is inserted between the ascending aorta and the main pulmonary artery. This shunt is usually performed when the pulmonary arteries are hypoplastic.

Sano shunt uses an extracardiac allograft valved conduit directly from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery. Sano shunt avoids the reduced diastolic blood flow in the coronary circulation which can be associated with Blalock-Taussig shunt [1].

Reference

1. Rodríguez E, Soler R, Fernández R, Raposo I. Postoperative imaging in cyanotic congenital heart diseases: part 1, Normal findings. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2007 Dec;189(6):1353-60. doi: 10.2214/AJR.07.2104. PMID: 18029871.