Pulmonary Vein Stenosis

Pulmonary Vein Stenosis- PVS is a rare and serious condition in which there is a blockage in the blood vessels that bring blood from the lungs back to the heart. The blockage is caused by an abnormal thickening of the walls of veins. While PVS can occur in a single pulmonary vein, it most often affects multiple veins at the same time.

Heart surgery can enlarge the narrowed veins, while balloon catheterization can push the veins open. Some patients can be treated with just one surgery and afterward need only medication and possibly catheterizations. But surgery and catheterization are often short-term solutions for many patients because the blockage can recur in about a month after treatment, what is known as recurrent PVS. These patients require frequent surgeries and catheterizations, along with medication.

-Boston Children's Hospital