title: Early experience with extracardiac Fontan operation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The extracardiac Fontan (ECFO) operation has gained more widespread use over last decade. In this article we analyze our early experience with ECFO.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-three patients underwent ECFO at median age 4.1 years. Normothermic perfusion with the heart beating was used in 24 patients and cardioplegia in 7. Fenestration was not performed in the last 16 patients who underwent surgery without cardioplegia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The hospital mortality was 6% (2 patients). Necessity or duration of inotropic support, duration of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit and hospital stay, and incidence of prolonged pleural effusions of patients operated on without cardioplegia were shorter and the rate of complications in these patients was lower than in patients who underwent cardioplegia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our preliminary experience shows that ECFO can be performed in many patients with normothermic cardiopulmonary bypass and without cardioplegia and fenestration. Avoidance of cardioplegia seems to decrease postoperative morbidity. Incidence of early postoperative arrhythmias is low. Despite encouraging early results, longer follow-up is necessary to prove the real advantages of ECFO.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, German Heart Institute Berlin. alexi@dhzb.de
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Alexi-Meskishvili
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ovroutski
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dähnert
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Lange
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hetzer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization; D002315:Cardiopulmonary Bypass / Q000379:methods; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D018729:Fontan Procedure / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D006324:Heart Arrest, Induced; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000503:physiopathology; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D016896:Treatment Outcome