Balloon occlusion angiography in Infancy: Methods, uses and limitations

Axillary artery counter-current aortography in the newborn with aortic arch obstruction

“…This is conventionally done by retrograde aortography technique which, in the newborn infant, is often accompanied by significant local and systemic complications [7]. Balloon occlusive aortography technique [8] has also been used to image the aortic arch but it demands a formal catheterization procedure and the presence of a patent ductus arteriosus. It, however, does not always provide desirable results [8].…”

“…Balloon occlusive aortography technique [8] has also been used to image the aortic arch but it demands a formal catheterization procedure and the presence of a patent ductus arteriosus. It, however, does not always provide desirable results [8]. Left ventricular access from traditional venous routes is often possible in infants with coarctation of aorta through either the atrial or ventricular communication, but left ventricu-logram often does not image the distal aortic arch satisfactorily because of the massive intracardiac left to right shunt and the obscuring effect of the dilated pulmonary arteries.…”

Demonstration of ascending aorta in hypoplastic left heart syndrome with aortic atresia by balloon occlusion aortography

“…We have shown balloon occlusion angiography in the descending aorta approached antegradely produces clear opacification of the ascending aorta and coronary arteries together with the patent ductus arteriosus and pulmonary artery. Obligatory retrograde flow into the aortic arch because of absence of left ventricular output allows the use of a smaller volume of contrast and a slower injection rate compared to that required for identification of coarctation or interruption of the aorta [1][2][3], thus minimizing the deleterious hypoxemic effect of contrast material on coronary perfusion. Not encountered in our series, is the occasional case with a patent aortic orifice where the amount of left ventricular output would be too small to affect visualization of the ascending aorta [13].…”

“…It has been shown to be a simple and effective method in the diagnosis of coarctation or interruption of the aorta [1, 2] and has also been used to visualize the arterial supply to the lungs in patients with pulmonary atresia and vemricular septal defect [3,4]. We report use of this method to demonstrate the ascending aorta in patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome with aortic atresia.…”