Pulmonary Artery Reconstruction (PAR) Program

The heart and lungs work together as a team to deliver oxygen-rich blood to the brain and body to keep us healthy. When the pulmonary arteries and blood vessels in the lungs are damaged, narrowed, or missing, you or your child could benefit from pulmonary artery reconstruction—a surgical procedure that rebuilds arteries and vessels in the lungs to achieve near-normal heart-lung function for improved health and wellness.

Stanford Medicine Children’s Health is the No. 1 place in the world for pulmonary artery reconstruction.

Our Pulmonary Artery Reconstruction (PAR) Program was built upon a heart-lung surgery called unifocalization, pioneered by Frank Hanley, MD, the Executive Director of the Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center. It has been the flagship surgery in our PAR program since the mid-1990s. In the last 20+ years, we have built an entire team of exceptionally talented cardiothoracic surgeons who perform unifocalization, and we have expanded the techniques of unifocalization to other heart-lung conditions and developed other reconstruction procedures.

The individuals that we treat in our PAR program have complex congenital (present at birth) or acquired (after birth) heart defects accompanied by pulmonary artery abnormalities. Children and adults from across the globe come to us for our one-of-a-kind, exceptional care. We welcome you to learn more about our PAR program, a core strength of our nationally leading Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center.

Why choose Stanford Children’s for pulmonary artery reconstruction

Children and adults of all ages come to us for the following reasons:

• We achieve exceptional outcomes that transform lives. Our exceedingly high volumes—the highest in the country—translate into exceptional outcomes for our patients. Our unifocalization surgery success rate is more than 90% because we’ve built a team of top-performing surgeons with unparalleled expertise in performing PAR, and the large number of patients we see has deepened our experience. 
• We have the largest and longest-standing pulmonary artery reconstruction (PAR) program in the world. We perform 100+ PAR surgeries each year for a variety of conditions, with an average of two to three per week. Our patients come to our PAR program from all over the world – 45+ U.S. states and 5+ foreign countries.
• Our talented team of heart specialists provides personalized and coordinated care. Our comprehensive care team of cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, and interventional cardiologists work alongside cardiac imaging specialists, cardiovascular intensive care doctors, care coordinators, and nurse practitioners to provide seamless care for you or your child before, during, and after a PAR procedure.
• We treat a variety of complex and rare conditions that affect the heart and lungs. Our revolutionary surgeries are lifesaving and life-enhancing for a range of conditions, including, but not limited to, tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) (a group of heart defects) with pulmonary atresia (a defective pulmonary valve) and major aortopulmonary collateral arteries—MAPCAs (extra arteries). We also treat abnormalities associated with Williams syndrome, Alagille syndrome, single ventricle hearts, pulmonary artery stenosis (narrowed arteries), and more.