1. Technical modifications for transplant in the failing Fontan
- Author
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Manuela Camino, Ramón Pérez-Caballero, José Luis Zamorano, Raquel Prieto, Ana Pita, Eduardo Zatarain, Nuria Gil-Villanueva, Juan-Miguel Gil-Jaurena, and Carlos Pardo
- Subjects
Heart Defects, Congenital ,Aortic arch ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Vena Cava, Superior ,Adolescent ,Cath lab ,Protein-Losing Enteropathies ,Vena Cava, Inferior ,Pulmonary Artery ,030204 cardiovascular system & hematology ,Anastomosis ,Fontan Procedure ,Inferior vena cava ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Superior vena cava ,medicine.artery ,medicine ,Humans ,Pericardium ,Heart Atria ,cardiovascular diseases ,Aorta ,business.industry ,General Medicine ,medicine.disease ,Pulmonary hypertension ,Surgery ,surgical procedures, operative ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,030228 respiratory system ,medicine.vein ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,cardiovascular system ,Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine ,business - Abstract
Introduction:Heart transplant after Fontan completion poses a unique surgical challenge. Twenty patients are presented, stressing the technical hints performed in the five anastomoses to match the graft in the recipient.Methods:Data are collected from 20 Fontan patients between 2013 and 2019. Age (13 years), weight (37 kg.), and time interval between Fontan and transplant (7 years) are presented as median. Extracardiac conduit (size 18/20) was implanted in 15 patients, whereas atrio-pulmonary connection was performed in 4 and lateral tunnel in 1. Six patients developed protein-losing enteropathy. Seventeen stents had been previously deployed.Results:The five anastomoses underwent some changes. Left atrium once, aorta 9 times, superior vena cava 7 times, pulmonary branches 15 times, and inferior vena cava 12 times. Follow-up was complete for a median of 42 months (range 6–84). Two patients died. ECMO was needed in six cases for pulmonary hypertension. Four patients had collateral vessels occluded in the cath lab, and stents were placed in superior vena cava (1) and aorta (1) post-transplant. Protein-losing enteropathy was resolved in five patients. Interestingly, one patient was on a systemic assist device before transplant (Levitronix) and right assistance (ECMO) afterwards.Conclusions:Transplant in Fontan patients is actually challenging. Hints in every of the five proposed anastomoses must be anticipated, including stents removal. Extra tissue from the donor (innominate vein, aortic arch, and pericardium) is strongly advisable. ECMO for right ventricular dysfunction was needed in nearly one-third of the cases. Overall results can match other transplant cohorts.
- Published
- 2020
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