1/56. Divided left atrium in association with tricuspid atresia and discordant ventriculo-arterial connections. Division of the morphologically left atrium is a rare abnormality, constituting around 0.1% of congenital heart disease. It may coexist with other cardiac abnormalities, and this association may obscure its recognition. We report an uncommon association with tricuspid atresia and discordant ventriculo-arterial connections, the latter dominating the clinical picture. Accurate diagnosis was made by transthoracic cross-sectional echocardiography, and the patient was referred to surgery without need for cardiac catheterisation. ( info) |
| This is a unique report of systemic-to-pulmonary artery shunt thromboses secondary to primary antiphospholipid syndrome and antithrombin iii deficiency in a neonate with cyanotic congenital heart disease. This infant with tricuspid atresia experienced thromboses of two modified Blalock-Taussig shunts en route to a bidirectional cavo-pulmonary shunt and potential future Fontan operation. Chronic warfarin anticoagulation has prevented additional thrombo-embolic events. ( info) |
| The association of tricuspid atresia and persistent truncus arteriosus is a very rare congenital anomaly. We report a newborn with a prenatal diagnosis of tricuspid atresia, in whom associated type II persistent truncus arteriosus was found by postnatal echocardiography. The patient had mild cyanosis and developed heart failure soon after birth. Balloon septostomy was performed to enlarge the interatrial communication. However, her condition rapidly deteriorated and she died of sepsis and heart failure at the age of 14 days. ( info) |
| Cerebral thromboembolism is a rare but serious complication after Fontan operation. This is the report of a patient who underwent a successful intracardiac thrombectomy for cerebral thromboembolism after Fontan operation. A 2-year-old girl was referred to us with the diagnosis of tricuspid atresia without pulmonary stenosis, normally related great arteries, and a ventricular septal defect. Although she underwent a successful Fontan operation and division of the main pulmonary artery, she developed a cerebrovascular event at 3 weeks after the operation. echocardiography demonstrated a large thrombus within the residue of the main pulmonary artery, and suggested that the thrombus had migrated into the systemic circulation by way of the ventricular septal defect. At 2 weeks after the cerebrovascular event, she underwent thrombectomy and excision of the pulmonary valve. Although she has developed slight left-sided hemiparesis, she is leading a normal life at 1 year after the operation. ( info) |
5/56. Circumscribed intestinal protein loss with deficiency in CD4 lymphocytes after the fontan procedure. Protein-losing enteropathy is an important complication after right heart bypass operations (fontan procedure). Laboratory examinations usually reveal hypoalbuminaemia, hypoproteinaemia, elevated alpha(1)-antitrypsin clearance, and lymphocytopenia. A case of protein-losing enteropathy after fontan procedure is reported with a circumscribed protein loss in the region of the terminal ileum despite good haemodynamics. The patient developed only mild hypoalbuminaemia and no diarrhoea but severe cellular and humoral immune abnormalities, namely a markedly decreased proportion of CD4 lymphocytes but normal proportion of CD8 lymphocytes (CD4 14%, CD8 23%) and decreased serum levels of immunoglobulin g. Intestinal biopsies revealed normal mucosa. This report is unique as it is the first to describe a ratio of CD4 to CD8 lymphocytes <1 due to an almost selective loss of CD4 lymphocytes and a circumscribed intestinal protein loss in a patient who developed protein-losing enteropathy after Fontan operation. CONCLUSION: There is a severe decrease of CD4 lymphocytes of unknown origin in a patient with circumscribed intestinal protein loss after Fontan operation. Passive leakage of lymph fluid due to abnormal systemic venous pressure is not a sufficient explanation of the almost selective loss of CD4 lymphocytes. Primary or secondary activation of the immune system may influence structural integrity and permeability of the intestinal wall and may play a triggering role in protein-losing enteropathy after the fontan procedure. ( info) |
6/56. Diagnosis, management, and pathophysiology of post-Fontan hypoxaemia secondary to Glenn shunt related pulmonary arteriovenous malformation. An 8 year old child with tricuspid atresia had developed right sided pulmonary arteriovenous malformations following a previous classic Glenn procedure. These became clinically manifest immediately after Fontan conversion because of severe systemic desaturation. The pathophysiology and postoperative medical management of this case is described and related to current understanding of the aetiology of acquired pulmonary arteriovenous malformations following cavopulmonary shunt. ( info) |
7/56. Usefulness of triiodothyronine (T3) treatment after surgery for complex congenital heart disease in infants and children. This is a study of the use of T3 infusion in the postoperative period in 6 pediatric patients who underwent complex cardiac surgical procedures under cardiopulmonary bypass. Normalization of serum T3 levels was reflected in a marked decrease in requirement of inotropic support, conversion to normal sinus rhythm, and progressively improving clinical course. ( info) |
| The coexistence of tricuspid atresia and common arterial trunk is extremely rare. We present a successful three-stage surgical treatment of this defect. The first stage included disconnection of the pulmonary arteries from the common trunk, atrial septectomy and systemic-to-pulmonary shunt; the second stage, a hemi-fontan procedure; and the third stage, a fenestrated Fontan completion. The child is now 8 years old and is developing well. ( info) |
9/56. Stent implantation in a central aorto-pulmonary shunt. A 5.5-week-old infant with tricuspid atresia presented with severe hypoxemia not responding to the placement of a central shunt (4 mm polytetrafluorethylene). The infant was taken to the catheterization laboratory, where an AVE stent was successfully implanted in a severe postoperative stenosis, at the pulmonary end of the anastomosis. The oxygen saturation improved significantly, however, the infant died due to renal failure. The post-mortem anatomical findings are shown. ( info) |
| Absence of the pulmonary valve occurs usually in association with tetralogy of fallot and occasionally with an atrial septal defect or as an isolated lesion. Very rarely it occurs with tricuspid atresia, intact ventricular septum, and dysplasia of the right ventricular free wall and of the ventricular septum. We present the clinical, anatomic, and histologic findings of a new case, and for the first time, the data from two patients with absent pulmonary valve and severe tricuspid stenosis, who exhibited similar histologic findings. We also reviewed the clinical and anatomic data of 24 previously published cases and compared them with the new cases. In all three new cases, the myocardium of the right ventricle was very abnormal. In the two cases with tricuspid stenosis, large segments of myocardium were replaced with sinusoids and fibrous tissue. In the case with tricuspid atresia, the right ventricular free wall contained only fibroelastic tissue. The ventricular septum in all three patients showed asymmetric hypertrophy and in two of the three patients, multiple sinusoids had replaced large segments of myocardial cells. The left ventricular free wall myocardium and the walls of the great arteries were unremarkable. Our data indicate that myocardial depletion involving the right ventricular free wall and the ventricular septum and its replacement by sinusoids and fibroelastic tissue occur not only in cases of absent pulmonary valve with tricuspid atresia but also in cases of absent pulmonary valve with tricuspid stenosis. The degree of myocardial depletion varies and is more severe when the tricuspid valve is atretic. ( info) |