Open Access

ARTICLE

Results of Fontan in Patients with Apicocaval Juxtaposition or/and Separated Hepatic Venous Drainage

by Ju Wang, Shuo Dong, Jun Yan^*

Department of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, National Center for Cardiovascular Disease and Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China

* Corresponding Author: Jun Yan. Email:

Congenital Heart Disease 2021, 16(5), 477-485. https://doi.org/10.32604/CHD.2021.015016

Received 16 November 2020; Accepted 13 January 2021; Issue published 03 June 2021

Abstract

Objective: Modifications of the Fontan operation, which are also known as total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC), are widely applied for patients with functionally univentricular hearts (FUH). Herein, we summed up the different surgical pathways and clinical outcomes in FUH patients with apicocaval juxtaposition (ACJ) or/and separated hepatic venous (SHV) drainage. Methods: Between January 2009 and December 2019, 123 patients who undergone TCPC in our institute were included in this retrospective study. We have included 70 patients with ACJ (Group 1) and 53 patients with SHV (Group 2). Moreover, Group 2 included 17 cases combing with ACJ (32.1%). In Group 1, three different TCPC methods were conducted. While 45 cases were conducted with the extracardiac conduit-TCPC(EC-TCPC) method, 24 cases used the intracardiac conduit-TCPC(IC-TCPC) method, and only one case used the lateral tunnel-TCPC(LT-TCPC). In Group 2, four TCPC methods were conducted on patients. Forty cases used the EC-TCPC-common open technique, 6 cases with IC-TCPC technique, 4 cases with LT-TCPC, and 3 cases with intra-extracardiac conduit-TCPC(IEC-TCPC). Results: There were 7 patients in Group 1 and 14 patients in Group 2 who required early re-operation during hospitalization (p < 0.05). Postoperative mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) greater than 15 mmHg emerged as a predictor for early re-operation (p < 0.01) and early death (p < 0.001) in univariate analysis. Conclusions: TCPC can be performed in these patients and shows beneficial results. Under the Fontan principle of connecting systemic venous to the pulmonary vasculature unimpededly, surgeons should carefully evaluate three components when choosing for the surgical technique: The distance between inferior vena cava (IVC) and the apex; the site of the vertebrae relative to the ACJ; the distance between ACJ and SHV if coexisting. However, the technique should be altered when the postoperative mPAP was greater than 15 mmHg.

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