Children with single ventricle anatomy are among the most complicated and challenging patients encountered in pediatric cardiology. Current management involves staged surgical procedures, beginning with neonatal palliation and followed by a bidirectional cavopulmonary anastomosis in infancy and culminating in the Fontan procedure. The Fontan procedure, despite separating the circulation, remain...

A Fontan procedure has been performed on 29 patients for tricuspid valvular atresia. The age range was 8 months to 33 years (median 10 years), the pulmonary vascular resistance ranged from 1.8-6.1 units . m2 (mean 3.3 units . m2), and the mean pulmonary arterial pressure ranged from 13-45 mm Hg (mean 21 mm Hg). Twenty-nine previous operations had been performed in 23 patients. Fourteen other as...

OBJECTIVE To study the determinants and outcome of arrhythmias after the Fontan type operation. DESIGN Retrospective analysis of data in patients operated on between 1972 and 1986 (follow up 5-19 years (mean 12 years)). PATIENTS All 60 patients undergoing a Fontan type procedure at the National Heart Hospital, London, during the study period (mean age (SD) 12.3 (6.8) years). RESULTS Posto...

BACKGROUND To determine whether patients undergoing the lateral tunnel and extracardiac conduit modifications of the Fontan procedure have better outcomes than patients undergoing a classical atriopulmonary connection. METHODS AND RESULTS Between 1980 and 2000, 305 consecutive patients underwent a Fontan procedure at our institution. There were 10 hospital deaths (mortality: 3%) with no death...

SETTING Tertiary adult congenital cardiac referral centre. DESIGN Retrospective cross sectional analysis. OBJECTIVES To report our 20 year experience with adult Fontan operations, and to compare late outcome in patients with single ventricle with definitive aortopulmonary or cavopulmonary shunt palliation. PATIENTS AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Patients older than 18 years undergoing Fontan o...

The Fontan operation has been used to palliate patients with a functional single ventricle. In many such patients the operative risk for a Fontan procedure is high. The bidirectional cavopulmonary anastomosis (BCPA) is a useful intermediate palliative procedure before Fontan correction. It may reduce the deleterious sequelae of chronic hypoxaemia and long-term ventricular overload, thus yieldin...