Timothy J. Jones

The Senning Procedure as Part of the Double-Switch Operations for Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries

Anatomic correction of congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (ccTGA) has brought about the renaissance of the atrial switch. The Senning procedure has become the most widely used variant because of the lower incidence of pathway obstruction, baffle leak, and significant late arrhythmias. It is for this reason the Senning is discussed in detail here. The technical steps of the Senning are both ingenious and unique amongst cardiac surgical procedures. They must be made as safe and reproducible as possible because the procedure is no longer commonly performed and trainee surgeons may have only very limited exposure to these types of operation. In addition to its infrequency, there are additional technical issues regarding the atrial switch in the setting of ccTGA, particularly in relation to associated malposition of the heart and the conduction system. Outcomes for the Senning procedure in ccTGA have been very good, with early complications being extremely rare. Obstruction to the superior vena cava pathway has been recorded in less than 3% of cases and can usually be managed by interventional catheterization. Late problems with atrial arrhythmias have not been widely reported, but this may reflect the relatively short follow-up for these patient cohorts compared with older series in d-TGA.

Acute interventions for stenosed right ventricle-pulmonary artery conduit following the right-sided modification of Norwood-Sano procedure.

INTRODUCTIONnThe Norwood stage 1 procedure was modified by Sano with right ventricle-pulmonary artery (RV-PA) conduit replacing BT shunt. In our institution, this has been further modified by placing the conduit from the RV outflow tract to the right side of the neo-aorta.nnnPATIENTS AND METHODSnBetween April 2002 and October 2008, 227 modified Norwood procedures were performed. Eighteen had the Sano modification with the conduit to the left of the neo-aorta whereas 209 had the right-sided modification, which is the study population. A total of 18 (8.6%) patients presented with cyanosis due to conduit stenosis with median age 4 months and median weight 6.3 kg.nnnRESULTSnTwelve patients underwent transcatheter stent placement in stenosed RV-PA conduit. A total of 16 coronary stents were implanted in 12 patients with 4 patients each receiving 2 stents. The mean saturations increased from 60% to 74%. There was one late mortality which was non-procedure related. Five patients treated with surgical take down of the RV-PA conduit and creation of a cavo-pulmonary shunt, whilst one patient had replacement of RV-PA conduit. There were no early postoperative deaths. The mean saturations improved from 54% to 75%.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThe RV-PA conduit stenosis is a life-threatening complication after the modified Norwood Stage I procedure. This may require urgent surgery to replace the conduit or to perform a cavo-pulmonary shunt but as an alternative, transcatheter stent placement can be used with equal effectiveness and with a low risk of complications. The catheter approach is less invasive and the results show that it is an excellent option to relieve the stenosis even in the right-sided RV-PA conduit.

Outcome of the Norwood procedure in the setting of transposition of the great arteries and functional single left ventricle

OBJECTIVEnTo assess the surgical results of the Norwood procedure and subsequent clinical outcome in the setting of transposition of the great arteries (TGA) with a dominant morphologic left ventricle.nnnMETHODSnAmong 486 patients who underwent the Norwood procedure from 1988 to 2007 at our institution, there were 37 patients with TGA and left ventricular dependant circulation with the following associated lesions: double inlet left ventricle (DILV) (n=24), tricuspid atresia (n=9), ventricular septal defect (VSD) with hypoplastic right ventricle (RV) (n=4). Outcomes for all three-staged procedure were compared with the overall Norwood group.nnnRESULTSnEarly mortality was 21.6% (8/37) compared to 26.7% (120/449) in the overall Norwood group (p=ns). There was only one subsequent death giving a 5- and 10-year actuarial survival of 72.8+/-7.4% compared to 55.3+/-2.6% and 52+/-2.9% at 5 and 10 years for the overall series (p=0.06). Median follow-up was 4.7 (0.7-10.2) years. Eighteen patients underwent stage III completion at 3.9+/-1.5 years from the second stage with no mortality. Preoperative mean pulmonary artery (PA) pressure and transpulmonary gradient were respectively 11.6+/-3.4 and 5.2+/-3.3 mmHg. All patients had good left ventricle (LV) function at time of stage III. All patients except one are currently in NYHA I. One patient (with DILV) had congenital heart block and required a pacemaker. There was no postoperative heart block. The systemic outflow was unobstructed in all patients and no patient required any additional intracardiac procedure.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThe Norwood procedure provides good palliation in this subgroup of patients and avoids the need for subsequent intracardiac operations, maintaining unobstructed systemic outflow tract and avoiding the risk of postoperative heart block.

Transcatheter interventions in the early postoperative period after the Fontan procedure

Objective: To analyze the safety and clinical impact of interventional cardiac catheter procedures in the management of early postoperative problems after completion of an extracardiac Fontan procedure. Background: The mortality after Fontan procedure has consistently decreased over the last decade. The role of interventional catheterization to address early postoperative problems in this setting has not been studied systematically. Methods: Over a 9.7‐year period, 289 patients underwent an extracardiac fenestrated Fontan procedure with two early deaths (0.7%) and takedown in four (1.4%). Twenty‐seven patients (9.3%) underwent 32 interventional cardiac catheter procedures at a median interval of 12.2 (1–30) days. The median weight was 14.5 (13.5–25) kg. The case notes and procedure records were reviewed retrospectively. Results: Fontan pathway obstructions were treated in 11 patients with stent implantation with good results and no complications. Stent fenestration of the Fontan circulation was performed in 16 patients with one episode of transient hemiparesis and one episode of pericardial effusion. Three patients underwent initial balloon dilatation of branch pulmonary arteries or fenestration with little effect and underwent stent treatment 6 (5–9) days later. One patient had device closure of a large atrial fenestration. In one patient, residual anterograde pulmonary blood flow was occluded using a device. There were no deaths and in‐hospital course was improved in all. Conclusion: Interventional cardiac catheter procedures can be performed safely and effectively in the early postoperative period after Fontan completion to address hemodynamic problems. These techniques contribute significantly to achieve a very low mortality and address morbidity after Fontan completion.

Posterior Reduction Aortoplasty for Left Pulmonary Artery Compression After Norwood Procedure

All patients following the Norwood I procedure have a very large ascending aorta. This can lead to extrinsic compression of the surrounding vessels. We report a case of left pulmonary artery compression secondary to an aneurysmal neo-aorta and describe a technique of posterior reduction aortoplasty to decompress the left pulmonary artery.

Right ventricular outflow tract stent versus BT shunt palliation in Tetralogy of Fallot

Objective This study sets out to compare morbidity, mortality and reintervention rates after stenting of the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) versus modified Blalock-Taussig shunt (mBTS) for palliation in patients with tetralogy of Fallot (ToF)-type lesions. Methods Retrospective case review study evaluating 101 patients (64 males) with ToF lesions who underwent palliation with either mBTS (n=41) or RVOT stent (n=60) to augment pulmonary blood flow over a 10-year period. Procedure-related morbidity, mortality and reintervention rates were assessed and compared. Results Admission rate to paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) was lower in the RVOT stent group (22% vs 100%; p<0.001). Thirty-day mortality in the RVOT stent group was (1/60 (1.7%)) compared with (2/41 (4.9%)) in the mBTS group (p=0.565). Mortality until surgical repair was comparable in both groups (5/60, 8.4%, including three non-cardiac death in the RVOT stent group vs 2/41, 4.9% (p=0.698)). Total hospital length of stay was shorter for the RVOT stent group (median 7 days vs 14 days; p<0.003). Time to surgical repair was shorter in the RVOT stent group (median 232 days, IQR 113–360) compared with the mBTS group (median 428 days, IQR 370–529; p<0.001) due to improved pulmonary arterial growth. Conclusion RVOT stenting in Fallot-type lesions can be accomplished safely, with lower PICU admission rate, a shorter hospital length of stay and shorter duration of palliation until complete repair compared with mBTS palliation.

What tissue bankers should know about the use of allograft heart valves.

Heart valve allografts (usually referred to as ‘homografts’) have been used in cardiac surgery for over 45xa0years when they were amongst the first valves ever used. Today they remain an important part of valve replacement and reconstructive surgery, particularly in the field of congenital heart disease. There are currently seven tissue banks on the UK and Eire that procure, prepare and store these homografts for surgical implantation, currently providing around 700 grafts per year. This article reviews the history and applications of homografts and compares their performance and outcomes with current prosthetic alternatives. It also describes the processes of valve procurement and storage and describes their clinical applications, hopefully providing tissue bankers with the surgeon’s insight into what is required. Homograft degeneration and the natural history of these tissues is discussed, together with future expectations and developments in homograft valve technology.

Mentoring new surgeons: can we avoid the learning curve?

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Surgical management of hypoplastic left heart syndrome at the Birmingham Children's Hospital

Currently, a three-stage surgical palliation remains the treatment of choice at Birmingham Childrens Hospital. After initial introduction of the classical Norwood with pulmonary blood flow provided by a modified Blalock-Taussig shunt, a right ventricular to right pulmonary artery conduit at stage 1 Norwood palliation is now used in most cases, a bi-directional Glenn shunt at second stage and an extra-cardiac Fontan completion at third stage. Mortality and morbidity has improved after modification of the technique. Thirty-day mortality was 32.4% (79/244) for the classical Norwood procedure, 25.0% (7/28) for the left-sided RV-PA conduit and 12.7% (22/173) for the right-sided RV-PA conduit. Interstage mortality was 8.6% (21/244) for the classical Norwood procedure, 14.3% (4/28) for the left and 10.1% (15/148) for right-sided RV-PA conduit. After stage II, 30-day mortality was 3.0% (10/335) for all groups. Stage III 30-day mortality was 0.9% (1/115) for all groups.