Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39287667›Full record

ArticlePediatric cardiology2025

Postoperative Outcomes of Fontan Operation in a Multicenter Italian Study. How Far Have We Gone? Early Outcomes After Fontan Operation.

Irene Cao, Emma Bergonzoni, Luca Vedovelli, Giulia Guerra, Lorenzo Galletti, Gianfranco Butera, Matteo Trezzi, Mario Panebianco, Gaetano D Gargiulo, Emanuela Angeli and 22 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Pediatric cardiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Unplanned Readmissions due to Pleural Effusion Following the Fontan Operation.World journal for pediatric & congenital heart surgery · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

32 authors.

Irene Cao *Department of Cardiac Surgery Unit, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Emma Bergonzoni *Department of Cardiac Surgery Unit, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Luca VedovelliDepartment of Cardiac Surgery Unit, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Giulia GuerraDepartment of Cardiac Surgery Unit, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Lorenzo GallettiDepartment of Cardiac Surgery, Cardiology and Heart and Lung Transplant, Pediatric Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy.
Gianfranco ButeraDepartment of Cardiac Surgery, Cardiology and Heart and Lung Transplant, Pediatric Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy.
Matteo TrezziDepartment of Cardiac Surgery, Cardiology and Heart and Lung Transplant, Pediatric Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy.
Mario PanebiancoDepartment of Cardiac Surgery, Cardiology and Heart and Lung Transplant, Pediatric Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy.
Gaetano D GargiuloPediatric Cardiac Surgery and Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program, Department of Cardio-Thoracic and Vascular Medicine, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Emanuela AngeliPediatric Cardiac Surgery and Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program, Department of Cardio-Thoracic and Vascular Medicine, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Lucio CaredduPediatric Cardiac Surgery and Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program, Department of Cardio-Thoracic and Vascular Medicine, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Rossana ZanoniPediatric Cardiac Surgery and Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program, Department of Cardio-Thoracic and Vascular Medicine, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Carlo Pace NapoleonePediatric and Congenital Cardiac Surgery, Regina Margherita Children's Hospital, Turin, Italy.
Luca De OrsolaPediatric and Congenital Cardiac Surgery, Regina Margherita Children's Hospital, Turin, Italy.
Alvise GuarientoDepartment of Cardiac Surgery Unit, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Fabio ScattolinDepartment of Cardiac Surgery Unit, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Alessandro GiambertiDepartment of Pediatric and Adult Congenital Cardiac Surgery, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, San Donato Milanese, Milan, Italy.
Mauro Lo RitoDepartment of Pediatric and Adult Congenital Cardiac Surgery, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, San Donato Milanese, Milan, Italy.
Stefano M MarianeschiPediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit, ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Milan, Italy.
Salvatore AgatiDepartment of Congenital Heart Surgery and Pediatric Cardiology Mediterranean Congenital Heart Center, "Bambino Gesù"-San Vincenzo Hospital, Taormina, Italy.
Ermanno BellantiDepartment of Congenital Heart Surgery and Pediatric Cardiology Mediterranean Congenital Heart Center, "Bambino Gesù"-San Vincenzo Hospital, Taormina, Italy.
Ugo VairoDepartment of Pediatric Cardiology, Giovanni XXIII Pediatric Hospital, Bari, Italy.
Giovanni MeliotaDepartment of Pediatric Cardiology, Giovanni XXIII Pediatric Hospital, Bari, Italy.
Gabriele ScalzoDepartment of Pediatric Sciences, Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit, Giovanni XXIII Pediatric Hospital, Bari, Italy.
Giuseppe ScrasciaDepartment of Pediatric Sciences, Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit, Giovanni XXIII Pediatric Hospital, Bari, Italy.
Halkawt NuriCongenital Heart Surgery and Heart Centre, Gaslini Children's Hospital, Genoa, Italy.
Guido MichielonCongenital Heart Surgery and Heart Centre, Gaslini Children's Hospital, Genoa, Italy.
Roberta BiffantiDivision of Pediatric Cardiology, Departments of Women's and Children's Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Anna GozziDivision of Pediatric Cardiology, Departments of Women's and Children's Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Giovanni Di SalvoDivision of Pediatric Cardiology, Departments of Women's and Children's Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Vladimiro L VidaDepartment of Cardiac Surgery Unit, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Massimo A PadalinoDepartment of Cardiac Surgery Unit, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, Italy. massimo.padalino@uniba.it.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Despite the clinical results of the Fontan operation have certainly improved, it still presents with an inherent surgical risk of death and early morbidities. This is a retrospective clinical study of children undergoing Fontan operation in 9 congenital cardiac centers in Italy between 1990 and 2023. Clinical and surgical data were collected via a dedicated RedCap database. Primary outcome was cohort's mortality, also considering different decades, while secondary outcomes were postoperative complications and reintervention. In the last 3 decades, there were 897 patients undergoing Fontan operation, M/F 512/384, median age: 4.5 years (IQR 3.3-6.4), median weight 16 kg (IQR 14-22). A first palliation was deemed necessary in 710 patients (80%), and most patients underwent a staged Fontan (93%); an extracardiac conduit was used in 790 patients (88%). Postoperative complications (mild to severe) occurred in 410 patients (46%), and early reinterventions were required in 66 patients (7.5%). Overall operative mortality was 1.7% (15 patients). Age at Fontan greater than 4 years was associated with an early need for transcatheter reintervention (adj p value = 0.037) and a higher incidence of postoperative complications (adj p value = 0.017). The Fontan operation has seen significant improvements in immediate outcomes, notably a remarkable reduction in overall mortality to just 1.35% in the last decade. While minor complications have remained steady, there has been a substantial decrease in major early complications, deaths, and the need for reinterventions. Notably, patients aged over 4 years seem to face a higher risk of postoperative morbidity, underscoring the critical role of age in preoperative assessment and management strategies for Fontan patients.

Indexed as

Fontan ProcedureHeart Defects, CongenitalPostoperative ComplicationsChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansItalyMaleReoperationRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeEarly outcomesFontanOperative survivalSingle ventricleSurgical palliationUniventricular heart

Identifiers

PMID39287667
PMCPMC12496276

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.