Dr Helen B. Taussig (1898–1986) worked a paediatric cardiologist at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland from 1930 to 1963. Dr Taussig would become world-renowned for her contributions to the systemic-to-pulmonary artery shunt to treat congenital heart patients with cyanosis. This shunt would eventually be named after the surgeon/cardiologist as the Blalock–Taussig shunt. Dr Taussig’s name was also attached to the description of one form of double outlet right ventricle called the Taussig-Bing malformation. Dr Taussig ultimately received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 as a testimony to her life-long contributions to the field of congenital heart surgery.

In 1963, Dr Taussig retired from clinical practice but continued her teaching and academic pursuits at Johns Hopkins for another 14 years. Upon her “second retirement” in 1977, she moved to Kennett Square, PA. This paper will review the retirement years of Dr Helen Taussig and the curious intersection between art and medicine.

A two-month-old boy, with complex pulmonary atresia, became increasingly cyanosed 10 days after a modified 5 mm right Blalock-Taussig shunt. There was no shunt flow on auscultation or Doppler echocardiography. Despite anticoagulation with heparin, the shunt remained occluded. After demonstration of the occluded shunt at angiography, a guide wire was easily passed through the occlusion and into the pulmonary artery. Balloon dilation was then successfully accomplished with a 6 mm diameter angioplasty balloon resulting in a patent shunt. The shunt was still widely patent at cardiac catheterization six months later.

The period of adequate palliation from a Blalock-Taussig shunt may be limited by the development of stenosis of the shunt. Balloon dilatation oftenis unsuccessful due to recoil of the vessel. We report the case of a 22-year-old man with a stenosed Blalock-Taussig shunt who was successfully treated by the implantation of a balloon expandable stent.

Obstruction to the pulmonary venous return is a frequent associated anomaly in patients with isomerism of the right atrial appendages. Yet, preoperative diagnosis by means of either cross-sectional echocardiography or cardiac catheterization can be intriguing. Indeed, the presence of two morphologically right lungs reduce considerably the size of window for precordial echocardiography. Also, in the presence of severe pulmonary stenosis or atresia, it can be difficult at cardiac catheterization to enter the pulmonary trunk. In these patients, construction of a systemic-to-pulmonary artery anastomosis will almost inevitably result in pulmonary edema. Between May 1984 and December 1988, five patients with isomerism of the right atrial appendages, severely decreased pulmonary blood flow and concealed obstruction to the pulmonary venous return were admitted to our hospital. A modified Blalock Taussig shunt by interposition of a polytetrafluoroethylene prosthesis was performed in each patients and all of them developed pulmonary edema. Three patients died despite appropriate medical treatment. The remaining two patients were successfully treated by banding of the Blalock shunt. This was performed in the first patient at the time of the initial surgery, when prior to closure of chest, pulmonary edema became manifest. The second patient who developed pulmonary edema early postoperatively, underwent cardiac catheterization to confirm the clinical diagnosis of obstruction to the pulmonary venous return. Reduction of blood flow through the Blalock shunt with resolution of edema was initially achieved by means of a partially occluding balloon catheter. Pulmonary edema recurred one week later because of rupture of the balloon and the patient eventually underwent a successful banding of the Blalock shunt through a left thoracotomy. We conclude that preoperative assessment of the pulmonary venous return is mandatory in patients with right isomerism and reduced pulmonary blood flow. Construction of a modified Blalock-Taussig shunt in the presence of concealed obstruction to the pulmonary venous return will almost inevitably cause pulmonary edema. Banding of the Blalock shunt can be successful, as observed in our experience, for the management of this serious complication.

A 3-year-old boy developed acute obstruction of a left modified Blalock-Taussig shunt following selective power injection of contrast in the shunt. Balloon dilation was ineffective due to rapid recoil of the narrowed segment, but implantation of a stent effectively abolished the obstruction. The obstruction itself may have been produced by an intimal flap caused by the power injection.