Transhepatic approach for catheter ablation of accessory pathway in a child with complex congenital heart disease

We report on a 22-month-old boy with drug-resistant atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia and complex structural heart disease consisting of right atrial isomerism, mirror image orientation of the intrathoracic veins, hemi-azygos continuation to the left superior vena cava, separate drainage of the hepatic veins into the left-sided atrium, congenitally corrected transposition, pulmonary atresia, and atrial and ventricular septal defects. Access to the heart for radiofrequency (RF) ablation was obtained by percutaneous puncture of a hepatic vein, the left internal jugular vein, and femoral artery. The accessory pathway was localised to the free wall of the left-sided AV groove and successfully ablated. There were no procedure-related complications. RF ablation of an accessory pathway is feasible in young children with complex structural heart disease and abnormal systemic venous return. In such patients access to the heart must be planned with knowledge of the anatomy and judicious use of the hepatic venous approach.