Pulmonary Atresia

• Pulmonary atresia in children

  Pulmonary atresia is a complex congenital heart defect. Because the baby’s pulmonary valve is either missing or blocked, blood gets to the lungs through different pathways. It may get through a hole between their ventricles or a hole between their atria.

  Also, there is a blood vessel between the aorta and the pulmonary artery (ductus arteriosus) that is present in all children before birth but normally closes shortly after birth. This blood vessel can be kept open with medicine to allow enough blood to travel to the lungs. In babies with pulmonary atresia, the ductus arteriosus may be the only way blood gets to their lungs.

  With ventricular septal defect

  Some babies with pulmonary atresia have a hole in the wall between their ventricles. This is called a ventricular septal defect (VSD).

  In these babies, oxygen-poor (blue) blood comes from the body into the right atrium. Next it flows into the right ventricle. Then it goes through the VSD into the left ventricle, which pumps it through the aorta to the rest of the body. Blood flow to the lung arteries is either from the ductus arteriosus or similar blood vessels from the aorta.

  Without ventricular septal defect

  If the baby does not have a VSD, the blood coming into the right atrium is directed to the left side of the heart through an opening in the wall between the atria. This opening is normal in newborns and is called the foramen ovale. The foramen ovale closes soon after birth. Some of the blood that enters the aorta goes through the ductus arteriosus into the pulmonary artery and to the lungs.

• Your child is in the hands of experienced doctors

  U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks Seattle Children’s cardiology and heart surgery program as one of the best in the country. With more than 40 pediatric cardiologists, we have experience diagnosing and treating every kind of heart problem.

  Our heart team has treated many children with pulmonary atresia. We have years of experience with the treatment these patients may need, including cardiac catheterization and surgery. Children with pulmonary atresia receive compassionate, comprehensive care through our Single Ventricle Program.

  See our statistics and outcomes for single ventricle defect–related surgeries.

  We also have a pediatric cardiac anesthesia team and a Cardiac Intensive Care Unit ready to care for children who have heart surgery.

  Seattle Children’s has been treating children since 1907. Our team members are specially trained in their fields and in meeting the unique needs of children. For example, the doctors who give your child anesthesia are board certified in pediatric anesthesiology. This means they have extra years of training in how to take care of kids. Our child life specialists know how to help children understand their illnesses and treatments in ways that make sense for their age.

• Expert care from prenatal diagnosis through the transition to adult care

  We provide accurate diagnosis, thoughtful counseling and pregnancy management support through our Prenatal Diagnosis and Treatment Program.

  The Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program shared by Seattle Children’s and the University of Washington can help with care throughout your child’s adult life.

• Support for your whole family

  When an infant, child or young adult arrives at Seattle Children’s, a team of people will take care of them. Along with your child’s heart doctor (cardiologist), you are connected with newborn intensive care physicians (neonatologists), lung doctors (pulmonologists), nurses, child life specialists, social workers and others, if their expertise is needed.

  We’re committed to your child’s overall health and well-being. We’ll discuss treatments in ways you can understand and involve you in every decision.

  Read more about the supportive care we offer.

Most babies with pulmonary atresia show symptoms during the first few hours of life. However, in some babies, symptoms do not show up until a few days after birth.

If they do have symptoms, they may have these:

• Bluish skin tone (cyanosis)
• Fast breathing
• Working hard to breathe
• Tiring easily while feeding

The baby appears blue because there is not enough oxygen in the blood in their arteries.

Diagnosing Pulmonary Atresia

• Prenatal diagnosis

  Pulmonary atresia can be diagnosed while your child is in the womb using a fetal echocardiogram (fetal echo). This is a special ultrasound that uses sound waves to see and make pictures of a baby’s heart during pregnancy. A pediatric heart doctor (cardiologist) who is trained in fetal congenital heart disease will look at the results from your fetal echo.

  If your family has a history of congenital heart disease or a routine prenatal ultrasound shows a problem, your doctor may have you get a fetal echo.

  We provide accurate diagnosis, thoughtful counseling and pregnancy management support through our Prenatal Diagnosis and Treatment Program. See our data for prenatal diagnosis volumes and accuracy.

• Diagnosis in newborns

  To diagnose this condition after your child is born, the doctor will examine your baby and use a stethoscope to listen to their heart. In children with this condition, doctors can often hear a heart murmur — the sound of blood moving in the heart in a way that’s not normal.

  The doctor will ask for details about any symptoms your child has, their health history and your family health history.

  Your child will need an echocardiogram test so the doctor can see how their heart works.

  Your child will probably need other tests as well. These include:

  • Chest X-rays
  • Cardiac catheterization
  • Electrocardiogram
  • Pulse oximetry

For babies with pulmonary atresia, your doctor will suggest some procedures and treatments right away to improve your baby’s blood flow. Other procedures may be done when your baby gets older, such as open-heart surgery to repair or replace the valve. Most babies can be helped with surgery.

We provide complete care for children with pulmonary atresia through our Single Ventricle Program.

To meet your child’s long-term healthcare needs, we have a special Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program to transition your child to adult care when they’re ready.

Treatment Options for Pulmonary Atresia

• Medicine

  Your doctor may give your baby medicine (prostaglandin) to keep the ductus arteriosus from closing. This gives the blood a way to get to the lung arteries when the normal pathway between the heart and the lungs is closed. If the baby is diagnosed while still a fetus, the delivery team will plan to start this medicine soon after birth.

• Catheterization

  Your baby may need cardiac catheterization to make the opening between their atria larger. Doctors use a balloon to stretch open the narrow pulmonary valve (balloon valvuloplasty). This process may also be used to place a mesh-like tube, called a stent, in the ductus arteriosus so that it will be kept open and allow blood to flow into the lung arteries from the aorta.

  If your baby has several complicated lung artery pathways, your heart doctor may recommend a cardiac catheterization, CT (computed tomography) scan or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) to clearly see where these lung artery pathways are located to help plan the next steps, such as surgery.

• Surgery

  Your baby will need 1 or more surgeries to improve their blood flow.

  The exact procedures and timing depend on your child’s condition, including how serious it is and whether they have other heart defects. The surgeries may be done in stages during your child’s first few years of life.

  First, your doctor may suggest surgery to place a shunt between the aorta and the pulmonary artery to help increase blood flow to the lungs. If your baby has a pulmonary valve but it’s blocked, your doctor may suggest surgery to open or replace it.

  Later, your child may need one of these types of surgery:

  • Surgery to disconnect the shunt: If their right ventricle and pulmonary artery have grown enough to handle blood flow, your child may have surgery to disconnect the shunt placed from the pulmonary artery to the aorta so oxygen-poor blood goes from the pulmonary artery only to the lungs.
  • Bidirectional Glenn procedure: If your child’s right ventricle is small but big enough to do some pumping, your child may have surgery to direct some of their oxygen-poor blood directly from their body to their pulmonary artery without going through their heart first. This surgery is called the bidirectional Glenn procedure. This reduces the workload for their right ventricle.
  • Fontan procedure: If your child’s right ventricle is too small to do any pumping, your child may have surgery to direct all oxygen-poor blood directly to the pulmonary artery without going through the heart first. This surgery is called the Fontan procedure and is performed after the previous Glenn surgery.
  • Other surgeries: Your child may need other surgeries based on their condition, such as surgery to close a ventricular septal defect.

  Our doctors are very experienced with the procedures needed to treat pulmonary atresia, with outcomes that are among the best in the nation. See our statistics and outcomes for single ventricle defect–related surgeries.

• Transplant

  Sometimes babies with pulmonary atresia will need a heart transplant. The heart transplant team at Seattle Children’s performs many transplants each year for children with this or other heart problems that cannot be controlled using other treatments. Read more about our heart transplant program.