Background: During the last five years, 65 patients with univentricular heart have been treated surgically in our institution, according to a protocol of staged operations that have been previously reported.
Aim: To evaluate the early and mid-term outcome of those patients that have completed their staging protocol by means of a Fontan procedure.
Patients and methods: Between April 1996 and June 2001, 23 patients (age 16 to 223 months) underwent a Fontan procedure, 15 with an intracardiac lateral tunnel technique and 8 with an extracardiac conduit. A retrospective review of their clinical, surgical, echocardiographic, angiographic and hemodynamic data was performed, trying to identify risk factors for both mortality and functional capacity (FC). Follow up was complete in all survivors.
Results: Three patients died early after surgery (13.04%). Excessive pulmonary blood flow was a risk factor for early death (p = 0.03). One patient died at 14 months. Follow up was 29.9 months (1-63). For those who survived the operation, five years survival was 93.3%. The majority of patients are in FC I or II, with no related risk factors.
Conclusions: Our current results are comparable with those of larger series. Patients reach good FC and mid-term survival, irrespective of type of single ventricle or the surgical strategy.