Jatene Procedure (arterial switch)
This procedure is used to surgically correct:
- Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA) [transposition=switch the order, great arteries=the aorta & the pulmonary artery] – the positions of the great vessels are switched so that the aorta (which carries oxygen-rich blood to the body) is closer to the oxygen-poor blood AND the pulmonary artery (which carries oxygen-poor blood to the lungs) is closer to the oxygen-rich blood. It is usually accompanied by a hole in the wall between the ventricles (ventricular septal defect or VSD).
(See Normal Heart Image for comparison)
Click image to see download options from Flickr:
Jatene Procedure:
- The valves (pulmonary and aortic) stay where they are
- They slice a section of the pulmonary artery and of the aorta (above the valves) and swap them so that blood flows as it would in a normal heart
- They also take the coronary arteries* off and re-attach them so they’re with the oxygen-rich blood
(See Normal Heart Image for comparison)
Click image to see download options from Flickr:
Please watch this video from CHOP for an excellent visual explanation of this procedure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYEo5z0hajM
When the aorta/pulmonary artery is smaller than normal or blocked off, additional steps are taken to correct the stenosis/atresia. (eg. the Nikaidoh Procedure)
*coronary arteries are the small blood vessels that branch off the aorta just as it leaves the heart to “feed” oxygenated blood to the heart muscle.
