Early Outcomes of the Norwood Procedure in a Reference Center in Brazil.

Background: Only two papers have addressed the early outcomes of patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) undergoing the Norwood operation, in Brazil.

Objectives: We evaluated patients with HLHS undergoing the first-stage Norwood operation in order to identify the predictive factors for early (within the first 30 days after surgery) and intermediate (from early survival up to the Glenn procedure) mortality.

Methods: Patients with HLHS undergoing the stage I Norwood procedure from January 2016 through April 2019, in our service, were enrolled.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation After Norwood Surgery in Patients With Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome: A Retrospective Single-Center Cohort Study From Brazil.

Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is increasingly being used to support patients after the repair of congenital heart disease.

Objective: We report our experience with patients with a single functional ventricle who were supported by ECMO after the Norwood procedure, reviewing the outcomes and identifying risk factors for mortality in these patients.

Methods: In this single-center retrospective cohort study, we enrolled 33 patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) who received ECMO support after the Norwood procedure between January 2015 and December 2019.

Clinical and Surgical Strategies for Avoiding or Reducing Allogeneic Blood Transfusions.

Blood transfusions have still been used as a standard therapy to treat severe anemia. Current evidences point to both excessive allogeneic blood consumption and decreased donations, which result in reduced stocks in blood banks. Several studies have increasingly suggested a more restrictive transfusion practice for blood products.

Root translocation in congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries with ventricular septal defect and pulmonary stenosis, and other lesions.

The pulmonary root translocation (PRT) procedure has been used to correct ventriculoarterial discordance or malposition of great arteries since 1994. It was part of the surgical repair of 62 consecutive patients presenting with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (CCTGA) with ventricular septal defect (VSD) and pulmonary stenosis (PS), or other complex congenital heart disease with malposition of the great arteries, VSD, and PS. PRT was performed as follows: removal of the pulmonary artery (PA) with the pulmonary valve from its abnormal position, closure of the consequent hole with an autologous pericardial patch, resection of some conal septum, creation of an intraventricular tunnel connecting the left ventricle to the aorta, and construction of a new right ventricular outflow tract using the translocated PA.