Outcome of Early and Late Onset Fontan Operation in Patients with Univentricular Heart Repair

Objective: To determine the outcome of early and late-onset Fontan operation in patients with univentricular heart repair. Study Design: Quasi-experimental study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Paediatric Cardiology, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Karachi Pakistan, from Jan 2019 to Dec 2021. Methodology: During the study period, 121 patients of both genders, up to any age, with functionally univentricular hearts and who planned to undergo Fontan procedures were included. All cases were divided into two groups, Group-A had patients who underwent extra-cardiac Fontan at age ≤6 years, while Group B had patients who underwent extra-cardiac Fontan at age >6 years. Pre-procedure diagnosis, demographic, anatomic and hemodynamic characteristics, post-Fontan procedure morbidity and mortality were noted. Results: As per inclusion/exclusion criteria, 121 cases underwent Fontan surgery during the study period. There were 61(50.4%) male patients. Overall, the mean age was 7.02±4.6 years. Seventy-six 76(61.2%) cases were in Group-A and 45(38.8%) in Group-B. Mortality (within 30 days post-surgery) was reported in 11(9.1%) patients. Except for the mean duration of chest tube drainage ((0.010), there was no difference in terms of post-Fontan surgery outcomes between both study groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: The age of the patients at the time of the Fontan procedure did not affect the outcomes.