What is ligation of collateral vessels?

Also known as: collateral vessel closure.

Collateral vessels are abnormally large blood vessels that connect the aorta (the large blood vessel that carries oxygenated blood from the heart to the rest of the body) to the pulmonary artery (the blood vessels that carry unoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs for oxygenation), and are usually associated with a congenital abnormality of the heart. As they may make the heart work harder they may need to be closed. The process of closing these collateral vessels off is called ligation of collateral vessels.


Reviewed by: Jack Wolfsdorf, MD, FAAP

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM

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