Catheter closure of tube graft fenestration in extracardiac Fontan operation

As the extracardiac Fontan operation evolves, a reliable method for creating and subsequently closing communications between the systemic and pulmonary venous chambers would become useful. We describe a simple and safe technique of fenestration amenable to coil occlusion, which can be carried out in most cardiac catheterization laboratories.     

经导管封堵全腔静脉肺动脉连接术外管道开窗的初步临床应用

目的 探讨经导管封堵全腔静脉肺动脉连接术外管道开窗的方法及疗效.方法 2007年3至7月共行3例外管道开窗封堵术,男2例,女1例,年龄分别为7、14及8岁,术前诊断均为发绀,属复杂先天性心脏病,不能行双心室矫治,而行全腔静脉肺动脉连接术,术中均加行外管道开窗.术后患者持续存在口唇发绀,血氧饱和度降低.3例患者行心导管及造影检查后证实上、下腔静脉与肺动脉吻合口通畅,无狭窄改变,肺动脉平均压均小于15 mm Hg(1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa),分别采用AGA公司Amplatzer动脉导管未闭封堵器及房间隔缺损封堵器对外管道与右房之间的交通(开窗)进行封堵.结果 所有患者均封堵成功,封堵后即刻、15 min、30 min及1 h分别测肺动脉及腔静脉压,与封堵前比较无明显升高,且患者无明确不适症状,血氧饱和度较封堵术前均有提高,发绀减轻,超声心动图及造影证实封堵器形态及位置良好.无术中及术后并发症,术后随访3至6个月,经超声心动图证实封堵器形态及位置良好,无残余分流.结论 经导管外管道开窗封堵术技术成功率高、疗效确切,但远期疗效尚需密切随访.     

Results of transcatheter Fontan fenestration to treat protein losing enteropathy.

Transcatheter fenestration to create an interatrial communication has been used to treat patients with protein losing enteropathy (PLE) after Fontan operation. No systematic data have been reported assessing the results of this procedure. Our institutional database was queried to identify patients after Fontan operation who had transcatheter fenestration to treat PLE. Clinical notes, laboratory data, echocardiograms, and cardiac catheterization data were reviewed. From 1995 to 2005, 16 transcatheter fenestration procedures were performed in seven patients. Median age at fenestration was 18 years (range 13-41 years). Median duration of follow-up was 3.6 years (range 0.2-10.4 years). Techniques for fenestration included blade/balloon septostomy, stent placement, Amplatzer-fenestrated ASD device, and balloon dilation of previous stent. Size of the fenestration created was 5.2 +/- 1.1 mm. Systemic venous pressure remained unchanged after fenestration. Cardiac index increased significantly. Reduction of ascites and edema was noted after 9 of the 16 procedures. Ten of 16 (63%) of fenestrations spontaneously occluded. Three patients are free of ascites although recurrence of PLE occurred in all. One patient with a patent fenestration continues to have ascites. Two patients had Fontan takedown. One patient had conversion to a fenestrated extracardiac conduit Fontan and died postoperatively. The results of transcatheter Fontan fenestration are often disappointing. Maintaining fenestration patency is difficult. Even after "successful" fenestration, resolution of PLE may be incomplete and recurrences have occurred in all. Early consideration should be given to Fontan takedown or cardiac transplant in severely symptomatic patients with PLE who do not respond to fenestration. Transcatheter fenestration may be a bridge to a definitive procedure.     

Incidence and factors influencing the spontaneous closure of Fontan fenestration

Introduction: The Fontan operation is the final stage of single ventricle palliation in patients with complex congenital heart disease. Fenestration in the Fontan conduit, providing an atrial level right to left shunt, has been shown to reduce early postoperative morbidity. However, there is limited data on the long‐term fate of this fenestration. The aim of this study is to define the rate of spontaneous closure of the fenestration in the Fontan conduit and factors predictive of the fate of the fenestration.
Methods: This was a retrospective study reviewing the medical records of the patients who underwent fenestrated Fontan operation at our center. Preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative variables including the status of the Fontan fenestration were extracted and analyzed.
Results: Of 67 patients included in the study, 15 (22%) had spontaneous closure of the fenestration. Of the remaining 52 patients, 11 (20%) had procedural closure of this fenestration (10 via cardiac catheterization and 1 via surgery) at a median duration of 3 months after the Fontan operation. Patients with higher preoperative pulmonary vascular resistance and a history of postoperative systemic venous thromboembolism had higher likelihood of having persistence of the fenestration with P value of .045 and .037, respectively.
Conclusions: The rate of spontaneous closure of the Fontan fenestration was 22% in our study. Elevated preoperative pulmonary vascular resistance and history of systemic venous thromboembolism are predictive of persistent Fontan fenestration.     

Effect of baffle fenestration on outcome of the modified Fontan operation.

BACKGROUND. The "fenestrated Fontan" (surgical baffle fenestration followed by transcatheter test occlusion and permanent closure after postoperative recovery) was adopted in an effort to reduce perioperative mortality and morbidity. This study assesses the effect of baffle fenestration on outcome. METHODS AND RESULTS. Patients having a modified Fontan operation with a cavocaval baffle and cavopulmonary anastomosis were retrospectively selected for study. Those with baffle fenestration (n = 91) were compared with those without baffle fenestration (n = 56) with respect to preoperative risk factors, age, anatomy, surgical date, and presence or absence of a previous bidirectional cavopulmonary anastomosis. Outcome variables were failure (death or take-down) and duration of postoperative pleural effusions and hospitalization. Survival and clinical status after hospital discharge were ascertained. The two groups did not appear to differ with respect to age or anatomic diagnosis. Patients having baffle fenestration were at significantly greater preoperative risk by univariate and multivariate analysis (p < 0.01). Operative failure was low in both groups (11% without and 7% with baffle fenestration, p = NS). Durations of pleural effusions and hospitalization were significantly shorter with baffle fenestration (p < 0.01). Neither date of surgery nor a previous bidirectional cavopulmonary anastomosis appeared to contribute to improved outcome. Patients with baffle fenestration had lower postoperative systemic venous pressure (p < 0.01). There were no late deaths. Functional status in both groups is good (82% in New York Heart Association class I). CONCLUSIONS. Baffle fenestration is associated with low mortality, significantly less pleural effusion, and significantly shorter hospitalization among high-risk patients having a modified Fontan operation.     

Failed transcatheter creation of fenestration in a Fontan patient with original fenestration closed by AngelWings septal occluder: a case report

The fenestrated Fontan procedure has helped to reduce the mortality and morbidity of pediatric patients who underwent the Fontan operation. We treated a patient (7-year-old, female) who had developed heart failure 1 year after fenestration closure using an AngelWings device, although the patient met the proposed criteria for test occlusion. Hemodynamic evaluation using the ventricular pressure-area relationship revealed that the patient had both systolic and diastolic dysfunction, which were difficult to recognize by conventional hemodynamic indices. We then tried to percutaneously create a fenestration using a Brockenbrough needle, but this procedure failed. The AngelWings device, which may have been covered by pseudointima (composed of fibroelastic tissue), was hard enough to break the Brockenbrough needle. Re-creating a fenestration after device closure in patients after the fenestrated Fontan operation appears to be difficult, so more accurate methods to predict Fontan physiology after fenestration closure are needed.     

Predictors of rhythm disturbances and subsequent morbidity after the Fontan operation

The electrocardiographic, hemodynamic and surgical data of 30 patients who underwent a Fontan operation between 1977 and 1986 were retrospectively reviewed to identify the incidence and predictors of immediate and late postoperative arrhythmias and associated morbidity in long-term survivors. Of 4 patients who died less than 1 year after operation (mortality 13%), 1 death was related to an arrhythmia. Three patients were not in sinus rhythm before operation and were excluded from the statistical analysis that examined predictors of arrhythmias. The remaining 23 long-term survivors have been followed 6.3 +/- 2.6 years (mean +/- standard deviation) since surgery and all remain in New York Heart Association functional class I or II. Ten patients (43%) developed immediate postoperative arrhythmias (less than or equal to 30 days) whereas 11 (48%) had late arrhythmias. With up to 10.7 years of follow-up, the proportion of patients free from late arrhythmias continues to decline. Arrhythmias included bradyarrhythmias, atrial tachyarrhythmias, the tachy-brady syndrome and supraventricular ectopic activity. Immediate postoperative arrhythmias predicted late arrhythmias (p = 0.022). The preoperative electrocardiogram was the only variable useful in predicting both immediate and late postoperative arrhythmias. A more negative P-wave deflection in lead V1 (-2.4 +/- 0.7 vs -1.4 +/- 1.2 mV, p = 0.02) predicted patients with immediate postoperative arrhythmias, whereas both greater P-wave duration and a more negative deflection in this lead predicted late arrhythmias (103 +/- 14 vs 83 +/- 20 ms, p = 0.01, and -2.5 +/- 0.8 vs -1.3 +/- 1.0 mV, p = 0.005, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

成人先天性心脏病钮扣式补片术病人的健康教育

目的：探讨健康教育对施行纽扣式补片术病人的作用。方法：１１０例纽扣式补片术病人接受设计的健康教育课程。结果：减少了手术并发症的发生,与１９９７年１５例施行该项手术病人比较效果满意。结论：健康教育能提高病人对纽扣式补片术配合的积极性。     

154例改良房坦手术后早期死亡的高危因素探讨

目的:探讨改良房坦手术后早期死亡的高危因素。方法:1985年1月至2002年7月间收治154例改良房坦手术患者。右心房与肺动脉连接80例,右心房与右心室连接6例,全腔静脉与肺动脉连接68例。将术前、术中因素及手术结果进行单因素和多因素统计分析。结果:术后早期死亡37例,死亡率24.0％。术前McGoon比值≤1.8、术前房室瓣存在返流、手术方式、术后右房压>20mmHg、反复心律失常、严重低心输出量综合征是手术后早期死亡的高危因素。手术方式(右房与右室连接、右房与肺动脉连接)、术后右房压和术后严重低心输出血量综合征与术后早期死亡的有关。结论:术前严格选择心室功能好和肺动脉发育好、无明显房室瓣返流的病例,采用全腔静脉与肺动脉连接术式,术后加强监护是预防和降低术后早期死亡的有效措施。     

Optimum age for performing Fontan operation in patients with univentricular heart

The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal age for performing Fontan operation using data from the National Inpatient Sample. Our results showed that although the Fontan operation was most commonly performed at age 2 in the United States, age 3 is the optimum age for this procedure as evident by lower rate of in‐hospital mortality, procedure‐related complications, and rate of nonroutine home discharge when procedure is performed at age 3 years.     

Closure of the fenestration in the extracardiac Fontan with the Amplatzer duct occluder device.

We report the successful use of the Amplatzer duct occluder for the delayed closure of the fenestration in three patients who underwent an extracardiac modified Fontan procedure. At the moment of closure, the patients were 5.5, 2.7, and 3 years old (29 months, 3 months, and 14 months after the Fontan procedure, respectively). Immediate full occlusion was achieved in all cases. In addition, arterial saturation increased significantly (> 5%) with no hemodynamic deterioration. There were no complications during or after the procedure, and the patients were discharged in good conditions the day after and with uneventful follow-up. In conclusion, the Amplatzer duct is safe and effective for the closure of the fenestration in the extracardiac Fontan. Cathet Cardiovasc Intervent 2001;54:88-92.     

Fate of a modified fenestration of atrial septal occluder device after transcatheter closure of atrial septal defects in elderly patients

Background: Data on closure of atrial septal defects (ASD) in elderly patients with a fenestrated Amplatzer septal occluder (ASO) device is limited. Methods: A hemodynamically significant ASD was closed with a fenestrated ASO in 3 patients with ages >62 years. Prior to implant a 4‐mm fenestration was created by balloon dilatation without additional suture fixation just adjacent to the stent part of the device. Indications for fenestration were restrictive left ventricular physiology and/or pulmonary hypertension. Heparin had been administered during and for 48 hours after the procedure. Two patients were maintained on phenprocoumon because of chronic atrial fibrillation, the remaining patient on aspirin and clopidogrel for 3 months after implant. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and hemodynamic evaluation were performed 4–18 months after ASD closure. Results: A trace or small fenestration through the ASO with left‐to‐right shunt was detected by TEE in all 3 patients without any hemodynamic significance. No thrombus formation was observed. Pulmonary hypertension improved in the affected patient. Pulmonary arterial wedge pressure and cardiac index improved in the second patient with improvement in heart failure symptoms and of quality of life in both. The third patient, after initial improvement for 6 months, developed significant comorbidities and clinical deterioration at 18 months follow‐up. Conclusion: The modified fenestration of the ASO decreased significantly in size at follow‐up. Applying this technique to selected patients judged to be at risk for ASD closure avoids acute decompensation and allows gradual diminuition of right ventricular volume overload during mid‐term follow‐up. (J Interven Cardiol 2011;24:485–490)