Use of the “chimney patch” technique for norwood stage I procedures

The Norwood stage I procedure is often used for the initial treatment of infants with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. This procedure creates a systemic arterial to pulmonary artery shunt to establish pulmonary blood flow. We describe a method to facilitate placement of this shunt by attaching a polytetrafluoroethylene shunt to a pulmonary artery homograft patch before performing the median sternotomy. This technique facilitates the performance of the proximal shunt anastomosis and expedites the procedure.