Conor P. O’Halloran, Amanda Hauck, Jeremy Fox, Christina Laternser, Emily Hoyt, Alan W. Nugent, Paul Tannous
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
United States
Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions
Catheter Cardiovasc Interv 2025;
DOI: 10.1002/ccd.31737
Abstract
Introduction: Endovascular stent placement for pulmonary vein stenosis (PVS) provides effective obstruction relief. Due to small patient size and limited length options of available stents, pulmonary vein branches can be covered (“jailed”) during stenting. The natural history of jailed veins, and whether side cell dilation (SCD) modifies this natural history, is unknown.
Methods: Pulmonary vein stents placed January 2017 to May 2024 at a single center were reviewed to determine if any veins were jailed during stent deployment. Jailed vein diameter was measured before stent placement. Subsequent SCD, and jailed vein patency at the most recent catheterization are reported. The relationship between jailed vein survival and SCD was evaluated by log rank test using SCD as a time varying covariate to account for patients who have delayed SCD.
Results: Eighty-one stents were placed in 42 patients at a median of 9.1 months of age and 7.0 kg. 45 stents (56%) jailed at least one pulmonary vein branch. Excluding five stents without follow-up, 51 jailed veins were identified as the result of 40 stents placed in 20 patients. Immediate SCD was performed in 11 jailed veins (22%) and 24 additional jailed veins received SCD at a subsequent procedure, thus 35 jailed branches (69%) received SCD. With a median follow-up of 1.1 years, 35 jailed branches (69%) remained patent. The estimated jailed vein patency at 9 months for veins not receiving SCD was 70% (95% CI: 44%-86%) compared to 97% (95% CI: 79%-99%) for jailed veins that did receive SCD (log rank p = 0.005).
Conclusions: Jailing of pulmonary veins was common during stent placement for PVS in children. Without SCD, jailed vein patency is low. Jailed vein patency was significantly improved with SCD.
Category
Stenosis or Obstruction of Normal Pulmonary Venous Connections
Stenosis or Obstruction of Pulmonary Veins Following Surgical Repair of Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connections
Catheter-mediated Interventions: Efficacy or Lack of Efficacy
Year of Publication: 2025
Age Focus: Pediatric
Article Type: Retrospective Observational Case-Control or Other Comparative Studies
Article Access: Free PDF File or Full Text Article Available Through PubMed or DOI: No