Adult patients with Fontan circulation: What we know and how to manage adults with Fontan circulation?

Abstract

Most of patients after the Fontan operation can reach their adulthood, however, the management strategy for this complex pathophysiology has not been yet established. In general, elevated central venous pressure (CVP) and low cardiac output (CO) due to impaired ventricular preload characterize the Fontan circulation and the ideal hemodynamics could be a combination of a lower CVP with a higher CO. Thus, preserved functional systemic ventricle with low pulmonary artery resistance is thought to be crucial for better long-term outcome. However, on the other hand, because of the unique hemodynamics, these patients have significantly higher incidence of complications, sequelae, and even mortality. The major complications are supraventricular arrhythmias, heart failure, and Fontan-related problems, including protein-losing enteropathy and pulmonary arteriovenous fistulae, both of which are refractory to the treatments, and most of these "Fontan inconveniences" increase as patients age. In addition, one of the recent emerging problems is Fontan-associated liver disease that includes liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Furthermore, women with Fontan circulation also reach childbearing age and there have been increasing numbers of reports showing a high incidence of pregnancy-associated complications. All these problems may be a part of "Fontan inconveniences" because most of the current Fontan patients are still "young" i.e. in their twenties or thirties and it may be not surprising that more new Fontan-associated pathophysiology emerges as patients age. Recent evidence reminds us of the concept that adult Fontan pathophysiology is not just a cardiovascular disease, rather, a multiorgan disease with many interactions between cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular organs. Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach is mandatory to take care of and anticipate the better long-term outcome.

Keywords: Complication; Fontan operation; Heart failure; Multiorgan; Prognosis.