ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the postoperative outcomes of patients with the diagnostic univentricular heart undergoing lateral tunnel (LT) operation with extracardiac conduit (EC) operation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>From June 1996 to July 2007, 114 consecutive patients with a single ventricle underwent total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC) in Children's Heart Center, University Hospital Giessen and Marburg GmbH, Germany. A LT was performed in 19 (16.7%) patients, and an EC in 95 (83.3%) patients. The mean age of EC group was 50.8 +/- 31.6 (ranging from 22 to 212) months, and that of LT group was 61.5 +/- 41.2 (ranging from 30 to 168) months. Early and midterm outcomes of two groups were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>One died in LT group (5.3%) and three in EC group (3.2%). The overall mortality was 3.5%. There was no significant difference in mortality between EC and LT groups (P>0.05). The postoperative pulmonary arterial pressure, oxygen saturation, and effusion time of two groups had no significant difference (all P>0.05). No significant difference in the occurrences of complications (arrhythmias, enteropathy, and thrombosis) was found between two groups after operation (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>There seems no difference between LT and EC in the clinical results in the early and middle postoperative stage. Glenn anastomosis followed by an EC seems to have some advantages.</p>