ATS
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Personal Folders
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Permission Requests
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Downey, F. X.
Right arrow Articles by Pifarre, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Downey, F. X.
Right arrow Articles by Pifarre, R.

The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 58, 1527-1529, Copyright © 1994 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

ARTICLES

Disruption of sutured pulmonary valve in Fontan operation

FX Downey, SY DeLeon, DO Monson, NE Baumgartner, RC Lichtenberg, HJ Sullivan and R Pifarre
Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, Illinois.

Two patients who had undergone a Fontan operation presented late with considerable disruption of a sutured pulmonary valve. Both patients had increasing ascites, decreased exercise tolerance, atrial arrhythmias, high right atrial pressure, and a large ratio of pulmonary blood flow to systemic blood flow. At operation, the main pulmonary artery was closed either by suturing the anterior and posterior walls together immediately distal to the pulmonary valve or by reinforcing the resutured pulmonary valve with a polytetrafluoroethylene patch. Both patients had an uneventful postoperative course, with disappearance of the symptoms and return of sinus rhythm. Although it is tempting to simply suture the usually thickened pulmonary valve in the Fontan operation, approximation of the pulmonary artery walls or patch reinforcement is necessary to minimize disruption.




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
ANN THORAC SURG ASIAN CARDIOVASC THORAC ANN EUR J CARDIOTHORAC SURG
J THORAC CARDIOVASC SURG ICVTS ALL CTSNet JOURNALS
Copyright © 1994 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.