ArticleGeneral thoracic and cardiovascular surgery cases2026
Orthotopic heart transplantation for Fontan failure: experience and treatment strategy-a case report.
Article in General thoracic and cardiovascular surgery cases, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOrthotopic heart transplantation after the Fontan operation presents technical surgical challenges due to the connection of systemic veins to pulmonary arteries and well-developed systemic-to-pulmonary collateral arteries. The altered anatomy and hemodynamics necessitate extensive vascular reconstruction. We report a successful orthotopic heart transplantation with three years of ventricular assist device (VAD) support in a child who had undergone the Fontan operation. CASE PRESENTATION: A 10-year-old boy had undergone extracardiac total cavopulmonary connection (18 mm expanded polytetrafluoroethylene conduit) at 2 years of age for a large ventricular septal defect, straddling tricuspid valve, and mitral stenosis. Following the Fontan operation, his systemic ventricular function gradually deteriorated. At 7 years of age, a Berlin Heart EXCOR® Pediatric VAD was implanted due to progressive heart failure, and he was listed for heart transplantation. Three years later, a heart transplant was performed. Cardiopulmonary bypass was established via cervical cannulation before re-sternotomy. The superior vena cava and extracardiac conduit were detached from the pulmonary artery. The pulmonary artery was reconstructed from hilum to hilum with a large bovine pericardial patch. Well-developed systemic-to-pulmonary collaterals caused excessive left atrial return; therefore, the left atrial anastomosis was performed under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. The systemic veins were reconstructed with bicaval anastomosis, and inferior vena caval continuity was restored by leaving a short segment of the previous conduit. The procedure was completed without complications. Postoperative recovery was uneventful, and the patient was discharged on day 35.
conclusionsThis case illustrates a successful approach to orthotopic heart transplantation in a child with failing Fontan circulation supported by a VAD. Reconstruction of the pulmonary artery using a large pericardial patch and restoration of bicaval continuity were key to overcoming complex anatomical challenges.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.