Balloon dilatation of a stenosed aortic homograft conduit following repair of the common arterial trunk

An 8-year-old boy, who underwent surgical correction of a common arterial trunk at the age of 10 months, developed stenosis of the 15-mm aortic homograft. Chest x-ray demonstrated calcification of the homograft, and at cardiac catheterization there was a 57 mmHg gradient across the conduit. He underwent balloon dilatation using a 15-mm balloon catheter. After four inflations at a pressure of 5.5 atm, the gradient decreased to 34 mmHg. Six months later he had a Doppler-estimated gradient of 38 mmHg.