What Does Single Ventricle Mean?
Normally, the heart consists of four chambers. Chambers that pump blood to the lungs or body at the bottom of the heart are called “ventricle”. There are two “ventricles” in the heart, including one located on the left and the other on the right. Oxygen-rich blood is pumped to the body through the aorta and left ventricle, while oxygen-poor blood is pumped to the lungs through the right ventricle. In case the left or right ventricle is underdeveloped, this condition implies the presence of “SINGLE VENTRICLE” in the heart.
What Does Fontan Circulation Mean?
Children with single ventricle have “FONTAN CIRCULATION” following a series of operations.
In Fontan circulation, blood flows passively instead of being delivered to the lungs with a pump. Babies go through certain phases before fontan circulation occurs. The first one of these phases is “band” or “shunt” surgery performed in first months of life, while the next phase is Glenn procedure. Glenn Procedure is performed when the baby is 6 months old. Through this operation, oxygen-poor blood coming from the upper part of the body is delivered to the lungs directly. On the other hand, Fontan surgery is performed before reaching the age of 4 years. In this operation, oxygen-poor blood coming from the lower part of the body is delivered to the lungs and Fontan circulation is achieved.
Which Children Have Single Ventricle?
For patients with underdeveloped right or left ventricle, single ventricle is considered.
If one of the below specified conditions exists in your baby, this means your baby has single ventricle and Fontan Circulation is required.
- Tricuspid Stenosis
- Tricuspid Atresia
- Double inlet left ventricle
- Double inlet right ventricle
- Pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum
- Mitral stenosis
- Mitral atresia
- Hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
As babies with single ventricle who have undergone Fontan circulation procedure or are candidate for this procedure have a specific circulation, their care, nutrition, neurologic development and growth are different from other children. Special children deserve special care.
Our Web Site has been prepared to help babies and children with single ventricle and inform their families.
At Koç University Hospital, babies with Fontan circulation-single ventricle are cared privately in entire lifetime and given world-class healthcare services with a multidisciplinary approach through our special follow-up program.
Our Web Site has been created to provide services only to children with congenital heart problem, single ventricle-fontan circulation and their families. All questions you put on this web site are answered only by professionals. All information is given in the light of scientific data under supervision of our specialists. The major purpose of our web site is to answer families’ questions correctly considering scientific data and avoiding misinformation and speculations. After all questions are evaluated in detail, answers will be submitted on our web site.
Prof. Ender Ödemiş, M.D.
Pediatric Cardiology