Interventional creation of an endogenous reverse Potts shunt in an infant with pulmonary hypertension and genetic surfactant disorder—a case report

Reverse Potts shunt is a palliative procedure aimed at decompressing the pressure-overloaded right ventricle in severe pulmonary hypertension (PH). We, herein, report the first case of an interventional creation of an “endogenous” reverse Potts shunt by stenting a pre-existing small but patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in a 2 months old female infant with severe, supra-systemic PH, associated with a novel combination of a compound heterozygous ABCA3 mutation and additional heterozygous genetic variants of surfactant protein B (SFTPB) and C (SFTPC). The aforementioned combination of human genetic mutations has not been described before in viable infants, children or adults. The catheter intervention was performed via percutaneous femoral arterial access and was well-tolerated. Subsequently, the infant improved by means of clinical status, echocardiographic systolic right ventricular (RV) function, and serum NT-proBNP levels as biomarker of right atrial and RV pressure load. In conclusion, this single case report suggests that interventional stenting of a pre-existing PDA to create an “endogenous” reverse Potts shunt is feasible and efficacious in infants less than 3 months old with severe PH and impending RV failure associated with developmental lung disease.