Results of Fontan Operation - 45 Cases Report -

Fontan 수술성적에 대한 보고 - 45례 -

Forty-five patients, aged 16 months to 15.5 years mean 69 months, with a wide variety of cardiac malformations underwent the modified Fontan operation between Sep. 1986 to Aug. 1988. Nineteen patients had previously undergone palliative operations mainly modified B-T shunt. Twenty patients had a mean pulmonary artery pressure greater than 15 mmHg, with nine operative deaths. Thirteen patients had anomalies of systemic venous connection and seven patients had anomalies of pulmonary venous connection. There were eighteen patients under the age 4 years and fifteen of them survived [83.3%]. Eighteen patients had a pulmonary vascular resistance [PVR] more than 2.5U/m, and nine died [50%] whereas two of twenty-three with a PVR less than 2.5U/m died[8.6%]. PVR and anomalies of pulmonary venous connection had a significant influence on survival, but age and anomalies of systemic venous connection did not. Amount of pleural effusion drained postoperatively and PVR had positive linear correlation. Pulmonary artery pressure was not an independent predictor of outcome and pulmonary artery pressure alone should not contraindicate a Fontan procedure if PVR is low. In general, the Fontan operation should be done at a younger age less than 4 year to avoid ventricular dysfunction due to long-standing exposure to hypoxia.