Nitric oxide synthase expression by pulmonary arteries: a predictive marker of Fontan procedure outcome?

Objectives: We retrospectively analyzed lung biopsy specimens from patients who underwent the Fontan procedure to identify predictive markers of outcome.

Methods: We studied the intra-acinar pulmonary arteries present in lung biopsy specimens from 17 patients undergoing the Fontan procedure. We evaluated both their morphology and their expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and endothelin 1.