Results of extracardiac conduit total cavopulmonary connection in 500 patients

This single-institution study aimed to evaluate the early to mid-term outcomes of extracardiac conduit total cavopulmonary connection (EC-TCPC).

Between March 1994 and March 2014, 500 patients (median age, 3.4 years) underwent EC-TCPC at our hospital. One hundred and twenty-three patients (24.6%) showed heterotaxy, and fenestration was created in 6 patients (1.2%). The standard institutional treatment policy included postoperative anticoagulation and individualized cardiovascular medication. The mortality and morbidity rates, haemodynamic status, cardiopulmonary exercise capacity and liver examination results during the follow-up period (median, 6.7 years) were retrospectively reviewed.

There were 2 early and 17 late deaths. The Kaplan-Meier estimated survival rate was 96.2% at 10 years and 92.8% at 15 years. Bradyarrhythmia and tachyarrhythmia occurred in 19 and 13 patients, respectively. Other late-occurring morbidities included protein-losing enteropathy in 8, thromboembolism in 5, bleeding complications in 6 and liver cirrhosis in 1 patient. The rate of freedom from late-occurring morbidities was 82.1% at 15 years. In the multivariate analysis, heterotaxy was found to be a predictor for mortality (P = 0.02), whereas age at operation was a predictor for new-onset arrhythmias (P = 0.048). In the cardiopulmonary exercise test (n = 312), the peak VO2 was 84.9 ± 17.3% of the predicted value, which tended to decrease with age (R(2) = 0.32) and elapsed time since operation (R(2) = 0.21). Postoperative cardiac catheterization (n = 468; time from surgery, 3.6 ± 4.3 years) showed central venous pressure of 9.9 ± 2.4 mmHg, ventricular end-diastolic pressure of 5.2 ± 3.3 mmHg, cardiac index of 3.4 ± 0.8 l/min/m(2) and arterial oxygen saturation of 94.2 ± 4.8%. In 101 patients who were followed up for ≥10 years, amino-terminal type III procollagen peptide and collagen type IV levels exceeded the normal ranges in 52.9 and 75.2% of patients, respectively, and liver ultrasonography revealed hyper-echoic spots in 43.3% of patients.

The early to mid-term outcomes of post-EC-TCPC patients managed with individualized pharmacotherapy were excellent, with low mortality and morbidity rates; however, development of late-occurring morbidities specific to Fontan physiology, including exercise intolerance and liver disease, must be carefully monitored during the long-term follow-up.