A patch design using bovine pericardial patch for aortic enlargement in the Norwood procedure has been introduced to avoid problems related to homograft availability. We report 2 successful cases of Norwood procedure with home-made bovine pericardial patch. The first case was a 23-day-old (2.2 kg) patient with multi-level left ventricular outflow tract obstruction with ductal-dependent systemic circulation. The other case was a 9-day-old (3 kg) patient with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. This technique was relatively easy to perform, reproducible and quite effective like homograft patch.
Allografts ; Humans ; Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome ; Norwood Procedures*

No abstract available.
Norwood Procedures* ; Palliative Care* ; Postoperative Care* ; Pulmonary Artery*

Modified Norwood procedure with maintaining cardiac beat was done in a 30-day-old neonate. Procedure was done with regional perfusion of innominate and coronary artery. Postoperative course was uneventful. Second-stage operation (bi-directional cavopulmonary shunt) was done 4 months later. The diameter of ascending aorta was more than 5 mm, Norwood procedure can be done in beating hearts.
Aorta ; Coronary Vessels ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; Heart* ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Norwood Procedures* ; Perfusion

Mediastinitis and sternal wound infection frequently occurred after corrective surgery for complex heart anomalies. Most of the patients are neonate or infant and they have showed low oxygen tension. For that poor condition, application of invasive treatment of mediastinitis is not appropriate and recovery takes a long time. We successfully treated a mediastinitis after Norwood operation using vacuum assisted closure. So we introduce the technique and the modification of neonatal vacuum assisted closure.
Heart ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Mediastinitis* ; Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy* ; Norwood Procedures* ; Oxygen ; Vacuum* ; Wound Infection

A 12-day-old female baby underwent a Norwood procedure for hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The left superior vena cava (LSVC), which was found incidentally during the operation, was divided to facilitate surgical exposure. After the operation, she developed signs of low cardiac output and died 7 hours afterward. Autopsy findings showed that the coronary sinus was atretic at the orifice without unroofing into both atria, rendering the LSVC the sole route of coronary sinus drainage. In patients with incidentally-found LSVC during surgery, special care should be taken to leave the LSVC intact because the LSVC may be the exclusive drainage vein of the coronary venous system.
Autopsy ; Cardiac Output, Low ; Coronary Sinus ; Drainage ; Female ; Humans ; Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome ; Norwood Procedures ; Veins ; Vena Cava, Superior

Retroesophageal aortic arch, in which the aortic arch crosses the midline behind the esophagus to the contralateral side, is a rare form of vascular anomaly. The complete form may cause symptoms by compressing the esophagus or the trachea and need a surgical intervention. We report a rare case of a hypoplastic left heart syndrome variant with the left retroesophageal circumflex aortic arch in which the left aortic arch, retroesophageal circumflex aorta, and the right descending aorta with the aberrant right subclavian artery encircle the esophagus completely, thus causing central bronchial compression. Bilateral pulmonary artery banding and subsequent modified Norwood procedure with extensive mobilization and creation of the neo-aorta were performed. As a result of the successful translocation of the aorta, the airway compression was relieved. The patient underwent the second-stage operation and is doing well currently.
Aorta ; Aorta, Thoracic* ; Esophagus ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; Humans ; Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome* ; Norwood Procedures* ; Pulmonary Artery ; Subclavian Artery ; Trachea

Patients with double-inlet left ventricle usually have a small ascending aorta. In the Norwood procedure, which involves a staged operation, a neoaorta is constructed with a homograft, and the pulmonary artery plays a role in the systemic circulation. Dilatation or aneurysmal changes can occur over time due to the exposure of the neoaorta to systemic pressure, which may induce adverse effects on adjacent structures. We report a rare case of surgical repair for neoaortic root dilataiton with aortic regurgitation, compressing the left pulmohary artery, in a patient who underwent the Norwood procedure.
Allografts ; Aneurysm ; Aorta ; Aortic Valve Insufficiency ; Arteries ; Dilatation ; Fontan Procedure ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Norwood Procedures ; Pulmonary Artery

BACKGROUND: Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is uniformly fatal if this condition is not properly treated. We reviewed the surgical results of treating hypoplastic left heart syndrome, and we evaluated the hemodynamics and functional status of these patients after they underwent a Fontan operation. MATERIAL AND METHOD: To assess the surgical results, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 6 (M/F=4/2) patients who underwent a staged operation, including a Norwood procedure, a bidirectional Glenn procedure and a Fontan procedure between October 1997 to May 2005. The mean age of the patients was 17.3+/-10.8 days (range: 9~36 days) at the 1st staged operation, 8.9+/-7.1 months (4.6~23.3 months) at the 2nd staged operation (the Bidirectional Glenn procedure) and 32.4+/-9.8 months at the final staged operation (the Fontan procedure). During the 2nd staged operation, one of the patients received tricuspid valve repair due to regurgitation. All the patients underwent an extracardiac Fontan procedure using Gore-Tex conduit (20 mm: 2 patients, 18 mm: 4 patients) and one of them required fenestration. RESULT: 21 patients underwented a Norwood procedure. There were 7 early deaths and 4 interstage deaths. Bidirectional cavopulmonary shunt was performed in 10 patients and the Fontan procedure was done in 6 (mortality: 1 patient, Flow up loss: 1 patient, Awaiting a Fontan procedure: 2 patients). After the Fontan procedure, there was no complication except for one case of post operative bleedings. All the patients had good ventricular function and 2 had grade I tricuspid regurgitation, as noted on their echocardiography. The average follow up period after the Fontan procedure was 19.6+/-14.9 months (range: 1.5~39.1 month). All the patients had normal sinus rhythm and they were put on aspirin and cardiac medication. During follow up period, all the patients had a good functional status (NYHA functional class I). CONCLUSION: All the patients who suffered with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and who underwent a Fontan procedure achieved a good hemodynamic and functional status, even though there was a relatively high operative mortality rate after stage I Norwood palliation. Therefore, thise staged operation should be strongly recommended as an important surgical strategy for treating hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
Aspirin ; Echocardiography ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fontan Procedure ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome ; Medical Records ; Norwood Procedures ; Polytetrafluoroethylene ; Retrospective Studies ; Tricuspid Valve ; Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency ; Ventricular Function

Between 2001 and 2006, 3 neonates that had multilevel left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and a ventricular septal defect underwent the Norwood-Rastelli procedure. The body weights ranged from 2.9 to 3.1 kg. The patients had a near normal sized mitral valve and left ventricle. We simultaneously performed a modified Norwood procedure with native tissues-to-tissue anastomosis without circulatory arrest, and a Rastelli type procedure using a non-valved conduit from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery and intracardiac patch baffling from the left ventricle to the pulmonary valve via the ventricular septal defect. The postoperative courses were uneventful. During follow-up, there was one late mortality caused by a cardiac catheterization related complication at 7 months after surgery. One patient required a Rastelli conduit change. Two patients are doing well during a follow-up period of 1 and 5 years, respectively.
Body Weight ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular* ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Mitral Valve ; Mortality ; Norwood Procedures ; Pulmonary Artery ; Pulmonary Valve

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of biventricular repair for hypoplastic left ventricle combined with coarctation of aorta and to provide strategy of surgical treatment. METHODS: The preoperative and postoperative dimension of mitral valve and left ventricle was compared for three patients with hypoplastic left ventricle combined with coarctation of aorta. Ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect and patent ductus arteriosus were also present in all patients, and the age at the operation was 36, 15 and 11 days. The preoperative end-diastolic left ventricular volume was 13, 28, 24 mL/m2 respectively, and antegrade flow was observed in ascending aorta in all patients. RESULTS: All patients underwent repair of coarctation of aorta. In addition to coarctation repair, pulmonary arterial banding and atrial septal defect closure was performed in Case 1 and 2 respectively, leaving the ventricular septal defect unclosed. In case 3, the ventricular septal defect was closed with the coarctation repair. Case 1 had to undergo Norwood procedure due to inadequate growth of left ventricle and is waiting for univentricular repair. In Case 2 and 3, the left ventricular size increased and biventricular repair could be performed successfully. CONCLUSION: Left ventricular growth can be obtained by repair of coarctation and biventricular repair was feasible in selected cases of hypoplastic left ventricle combined with coarctation of aorta. Size and volume measurement of mitral valve and left ventricle with echocardiography or magnetic resonance image provide useful information to decide the surgical strategy for this group of patients.
Aorta ; Aortic Coarctation* ; Ductus Arteriosus, Patent ; Echocardiography ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular ; Heart Ventricles* ; Humans ; Mitral Valve ; Norwood Procedures