Damus-Kaye-Stansel Procedure

The Damus-Kaye-Stansel procedure, abbreviated DKS, is a cardiovascular surgical technique that joins the pulmonary artery and the aorta to repair certain congenital heart defects in which the systemic circulation is obstructed. It was developed primarily to treat patients with a combination of a small left ventricle and transposition of the great arteries, allowing blood to flow from the left ventricle directly into the aorta, and by the late 2000s its use had expanded to other complex conditions including double inlet left ventricle, transposition of the great arteries with tricuspid atresia, and transposition of the great arteries with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.