A small balloon is then opened up in the narrow area. A small wire is placed through an artery in the groin and up to the aorta.

A newer method does not require surgery.

Blood flows through the tube and bypasses the narrow section.

A fourth way to repair the problem is to connect a tube to the normal sections of the aorta, on either side of the narrow section.

Then, a patch is taken from the left subclavian artery (the artery to the arm) to enlarge the narrow section of the aorta. First, a cut is made in the narrow part of the aorta.

A third way to repair this problem is called a subclavian flap.

This can most often be done in older children.

Another way to repair this problem is to remove the narrow section of the aorta and stitch the remaining ends together.

The most common way to repair it is to cut the narrow section and make it bigger with a patch made of Gore-tex, a man-made (synthetic) material.

There are several ways to repair coarctation of the aorta.

To repair this defect, a cut is most often made on the left side of the chest, between the ribs.

Over time, it can lead to problems such as extremely high blood pressure. The narrowing makes it difficult for blood to get through to the lower extremities.

Coarctation of the aorta occurs when a part of the aorta has a very narrow section.

This procedure may be done in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Tying off the ductus arteriosus is called ligation.

The surgeon finds the PDA and then ties off or clips the ductus arteriosus, or divides and cuts it.

Another method is to make a small surgical cut on the left side of the chest.

The coil or other device blocks the blood flow, and this corrects the problem. Then, a small metal coil or another device is passed through the catheter into the infant's ductus arteriosus artery. A wire and tube called a catheter is inserted into an artery in the leg and passed it up to the heart. In this procedure, the surgeon makes a small cut in the groin.

The procedure is most often done in a laboratory that uses x-rays.

Sometimes the PDA can be closed with a procedure that does not involve surgery.

If this does not work, then other techniques are used.

In most cases, the doctor will close off the opening using medicine.

This small vessel most often closes shortly after birth when the baby starts to breathe on their own.

Before birth, the baby has a blood vessel that runs between the aorta (the main artery to the body) and the pulmonary artery (the main artery to the lungs), called the ductus arteriosus.

There are many types of pediatric heart surgery.

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