Palliative Operations for Congenital Heart Disease

Palliations for congenital heart anomalies are surgical procedures meant to offset major hemodynamic derangements, usually in preparation for staged repair. They treat symptoms but cannot stop the progression of the disease. Palliative operations for congenital heart anomalies are classified into procedures aimed at: (1) reducing pulmonary blood flow (pulmonary artery banding); (2) increasing pulmonary blood flow (several methods of systemic-pulmonary shunt); (3) enhancing mixing at atrial level (atrial septectomy or septostomy); and (4) other (hybrid procedure). Hybrid procedure is an alternative to stage I Norwood operation for high-risk cases of hypoplastic left heart syndrome or similar left-sided obstructive lesions. This chapter provides an overview of commonly performed palliative operations for congenital heart disease.