The Blalock–Thomas–Taussig shunt (commonly called the Blalock–Taussig shunt) is a surgical procedure used to increase blood flow to the lungs in some forms of congenital heart disease. These conditions, in which a child is born with an abnormal heart include pulmonary atresia and Tetralogy of Fallot and are common causes of blue baby syndrome. The procedure involves connecting a branch of the subclavian artery or carotid artery to the pulmonary artery. In modern practice, this procedure is temporarily used to direct blood flow to the lungs and relieve cyanosis while the infant is waiting for corrective or definitive surgery. The Blalock–Thomas-Taussig shunt is used in the first step of the three stage palliation (The Norwood Procedure). Alternatives While the originally described Blalock-Taussig shunt directly connected the subclavian and pulmonary arteries, in contemporary practice a modified version of the procedure is more commonly used. In the modified Blalock Taussig shunt a length of artificial tubing typically made from PTFE (Gore-tex) is sewn between either the subclavian or the carotid artery and the corresponding side branch of the pulmonary artery. This modification removes the need to cut off blood supply and making it easier to regulate the blood flow to the lungs. Some centers now use a shunt directly from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery, a Sano shunt. This is done to avoid the reduced diastolic blood flow in the coronary circulation associated with the Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt. History The original procedure was named for Alfred Blalock, surgeon, Culloden, GA (1899–1964), Helen B. Taussig, cardiologist, Baltimore/Boston (1898–1986) and Vivien Thomas (1910–1985) who was at that time Blalock's laboratory assistant. They all helped to develop the procedure. Taussig, who treated hundreds of infants and children with this disorder, had observed that children with a cyanotic heart defect and a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) lived longer than those without the PDA. It, therefore, seemed to her that a shunt that mimicked the function of a PDA might relieve the tetralogy patients' poor oxygenation. In 1943, having broached the possibility of a surgical solution to Robert Gross of Boston without success, Taussig approached Blalock and Thomas in their Hopkins laboratory in 1943. According to the account of the original consultation between the three provided in Vivien Thomas' 1985 autobiography Partners of the Heart, Taussig carefully described the anomaly of Tetralogy of Fallot, but made no suggestion about the specific surgical correction required, observing merely