Telemetric adjustable pulmonary artery banding for pulmonary hypertension in infants with congenital heart defects

The procedure

Pulmonary artery banding is done under general anaesthetic. A small cut is made in the front or side of the baby's chest. The telemetric adjustable (remote‑controlled) band is passed through this opening, placed around the pulmonary artery and stitched in place. The band is then adjusted using a hand‑held remote control to activate a small motor in the band. This tightens or loosens the band to control the blood flow and reduce blood pressure in the pulmonary artery. As the baby grows the band can be adjusted by a doctor at an outpatient appointment. Later, when the child is older, the band is removed during open heart surgery to fix the heart defect.