Cheatham-Platinum Stent Implantation for Pulmonary Artery Stenosis Associated with Congenital Heart Disease in Children and Adolescents: Immediate and Midterm Results
Objective Over the past 10 years, application of NuMED Cheatham-Platinum (CP) stent in pediatric pulmonary artery stenosis has been relatively uncommon. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immediate and midterm results of CP stent implantation for treatment of pulmonary artery stenosis associated with congenital heart disease (CHD) in children and adolescents. Methods From August 2005 to May 2007, 4 consecutive patients (2 boys and 2 girls) with pulmonary artery stenosis associated with CHD underwent stent implantation. Follow-up was carried out by transthoracic echocardiography. Results We performed totally 5 stent placement procedures and implanted 7 CP stents (8-zig, 22-39 mm in length) in these patients. All stents but one were immediately successfully placed in the target lesions without displacement during the procedures. After procedure, the systolic pressure gradient across the stenosis decreased from 36.67±20.08 to 3.67±3.20 mm Hg (P=0.005) and the narrowest diameter of the stenotic segment increased by 112%, from 6.97±2.22 to 13.40±4.40 mm (P=0.013). During a median follow-up of 20 months (range, 13-34 months), the results have been stable without complications except 2 stents which developed intrastent restenosis 6 months later. Conclusions Our experience suggests that the CP stent implantation is safe and feasible for the treatment of pulmonary artery stenosis in children and adolescents with CHD. The immediate and midterm results are encouraging, but long-term results remain to be further evaluated and demand many more cases to be studied.