PEDIATRIC CARDIOLOGY
ANGIOPLASTY
Balloon angioplasty with stent implantation has become a widely used treatment strategy in cases of coarctation of the aorta or of the pulmonary branches, whether lesions are native, residual or induced by surgery.
The results achieved with angioplasty and especially stenting in the treatment of stenosis of the pulmonary branches are often spectacular. Furthermore, the surgical management of these lesions is often very complex. The limitations lie in the technical difficulties inherent in the current size of the delivery systems. In infants, the main issue is the need for increasingly larger-diameter devices as the child grows into an adult.
In cases of aortic coarctation, the initial treatment at birth is generally surgical and becomes ‘percutaneous’ as the child advances in age. Direct stent implantation may prevent the occurrence of an aneurysm which used to be the limitation of angioplasty.
