One hundred and eighty five cases of patent ductus arteriosus treated with surgery in the past thirty years are reported.The discussion centers on the surgical approach. The method of avoiding recurrent laryngeal nerve injury and the key-points in ductus ligation.lt is our opinion that the use of a dacron roll under the ligature, safe for ductus obliteration and avoidance of ductus rupture, is the surgical method of choice.when the ductus is associated with intracardiac anomaly, it may be managed simultaneously under extracorporeal circulation in open-heart surgery