Early experience in the surgical treatment of the univentricular heart.

Eighteen patients under went surgical treatment of univentricular hearts between April 1989 till October 1992. All 18 had palliative operations in the form of: a modified Blalock-Taussig shunt (5), pulmonary artery banding (2), bidirectional Glenn shunts (2), conventional Fontan repair (1) and total cavo pulmonary connection (8). There were 11 males and 7 females. The mean age at operation was 4.5 years (range, 1 month to 24 years). The average weight at operation was 12.2 kg (range 2 to 43 kg). Associated anomalies included: transposition of the great arteries (4), pulmonary stenosis (9), pulmonary atresia (1), mitral atresia (1), atrioventricular septal defect (1) and patent ductus arteriosus (3). There were no intra operative deaths. There were 5 early deaths (27.7%). Causes of death were due to: blockage of a modified Blalock-Taussig shunt (1), respiratory failure (1), persistent ventricular arrhythmias (1) and low output syndrome (2). Treatment in the form of a systemic to pulmonary arterial shunt or an operation based on the Fontan principle may offer an initial palliative or definitive correction for this condition.