should we attempt functionally univentricular or partial biventricular repair for patients with complex congenital cardiac anomalies and hypoplasia of the subpulmonary ventricle?

Abstract

hypoplasia, with or without dysplasia, of the subpulmonary ventricle is found in association with a wide spectrum of complex congenital cardiac anomalies. in these cardiac defects, the systemic ventricle is usually normal, while the subpulmonary one, usually of right morphology, is incapable of supporting the entire flow of blood to the lungs. there is now an alternative to the more classical functionally univentricular type of repair, which can be achieved by means of the total cavopulmonary connection, namely the partial biventricular, or the so called “one and a half ventricle” repair. in selected cases, by reducing the preload on the subpulmonary ventricle by construction of a bi-directional cavo-pulmonary shunt, it is possible to achieve complete separation of the pulmonary and systemic circulations, whilst still maintaining pulsatile flow of blood to the lungs. in this review, we describe our experience with the “one-and-a-half ” ventricular option, analysing the role of preoperative evaluation of the subpulmonary ventricle, and describing our results over the short and intermediate term.