# Reversed Potts Shunt and Venopulmonary Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Support in Sustained Pulmonary Hypertension Crisis

## TL;DR

A 5-month-old infant with severe pulmonary hypertension was successfully treated using a reversed Potts shunt and ECMO support, offering new insights into managing this rare condition.

## Contribution

This is the first reported case of successful postoperative V-P ECMO support after a reversed Potts shunt for pulmonary hypertension crisis.

## Key findings

- Emergency reversed Potts shunt improved symptoms in a patient with refractory pulmonary hypertension crisis.
- Postoperative V-P ECMO support was successfully used after the reversed Potts shunt.
- Imaging data helped explain how the reversed Potts shunt improves cardiac function in such cases.

## Abstract

Infantile idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension complicated by recurrent episodes of pulmonary hypertensive crisis is an extremely rare and critical condition with high mortality.

We present the case of a 5-month-old infant with a pulmonary hypertension crisis refractory to medical therapy, who underwent successful treatment with an emergency reversed Potts shunt (RPS), along with postoperative venopulmonary extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-P ECMO) support.

From an imaging perspective, the mechanism by which RPS improves symptoms in patient with sustained pulmonary hypertension crises is explained. Additionally, this is the first reported case of successful postoperative use of V-P ECMO support after RPS.

It is important to recognize the importance of RPS and V-P ECMO in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension crises. By comparing pre- and postoperative imaging data, the mechanism by which RPS improves cardiac function is better understood.