Clinical outcomes after the endovascular treatments of pulmonary vein stenosis in patients with congenital heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary vein stenosis (PVS) is a condition with challenging treatment and leads to severe cardiac failure and pulmonary hypertension. Despite aggressive surgical or catheter-based intervention, the prognosis of PVS is unsatisfactory. This study aimed to assess the prognosis and to establish appropriate treatment strategies. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed endovascular treatments for PVS (2001-2017) from the clinical database at the Okayama University Hospital. RESULTS: A total of 24 patients underwent PVS associated with total anomalous pulmonary venous connection and 7 patients underwent isolated congenital PVS. In total, 53 stenotic pulmonary veins were subjected to endovascular treatments; 40 of them were stented by hybrid (29) and percutaneous procedures (11) (bare-metal stent, n = 34; drug-eluting stent, n = 9). Stent size of hybrid stenting was larger than percutaneous stenting. Median follow-up duration from the onset of PVS was 24 months (4-134 months). Survival rate was 71 and 49% at 1 and 5 years, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between stent placement and survival; however, patients who underwent bare-metal stent implantation had statistically better survival than those who underwent drug-eluting stent implantation or balloon angioplasty. Early onset of stenosis, timing of stenting, and small vessel diameter of pulmonary vein before stenting were considered as risk factors for in-stent restenosis. Freedom from re-intervention was 50 and 26% at 1 and 2 years. CONCLUSIONS: To improve survival and stent patency, implantation of large stent is important. However, re-intervention after stenting is also significant to obtain good outcome.

Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Pneumonectomy for Complications of Congenital Pulmonary Venous Stenosis.

Congenital pulmonary venous stenosis is an uncommon congenital heart defect and is a consequence of failed incorporation of the common right or left pulmonary vein into the left atrium during embryologic development. Clinical manifestations include progressive exertional dyspnea, cough, chest pain, and hemoptysis. In this report, we describe a 37-year-old woman with known congenital unilateral pulmonary venous stenosis and a unilateral hypoplastic right pulmonary artery who presented with recurrent episodes of hemoptysis, requiring multiple catheter-based interventions, and symptomatic pleural effusions, requiring multiple large-volume thoracenteses. The patient underwent successful video-assisted thoracoscopic pneumonectomy with resolution of symptoms.

Key technical steps in dual-pathway repair of congenital pulmonary vein stenosis.

We present the case of a 2-year-old girl with congenital stenosis of the left inferior pulmonary vein associated with a large perimembranous ventricular septal defect. The child underwent repair of the left inferior pulmonary vein with autologous left atrial appendage as a pedicled tube, followed by closure of the ventricular septal defect. Important technical steps to minimize the restenosis rate are highlighted.

Pulmonary vein stenosis in patients with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a group of children with co-incident pulmonary vein stenosis and Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome and to generate hypotheses as to the shared pathogenesis of these disorders. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. PATIENTS: Five subjects in a pulmonary vein stenosis cohort of 170 subjects were diagnosed with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome soon after birth. RESULTS: All five cases were diagnosed with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome within 6 weeks of life, with no family history of either disorder. All cases had pathologically elevated 7-dehydrocholesterol levels and two of the five cases had previously reported pathogenic 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase mutations. Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome severity scores ranged from mild to classical (2-7). Gestational age at birth ranged from 35 to 39 weeks. Four of the cases were male by karyotype. Pulmonary vein stenosis was diagnosed in all cases within 2 months of life, earlier than most published cohorts. All cases progressed to bilateral disease and three cases developed atresia of at least one vein. Despite catheter and surgical interventions, all subjects' pulmonary vein stenosis rapidly recurred and progressed. Three of the subjects died, at 2 months, 3 months, and 11 months. Survival at 16 months after diagnosis was 43%. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with pulmonary vein stenosis who have a suggestive syndromic presentation should be screened for Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome with easily obtainable serum sterol tests. Echocardiograms should be obtained in all newly diagnosed patients with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, with a low threshold for repeating the study if new respiratory symptoms of uncertain etiology arise. Further studies into the pathophysiology of pulmonary vein stenosis should consider the role of cholesterol-based signaling pathways in the promotion of intimal proliferation.