The Fontan procedure is an open-heart surgery generally performed on children between 18 and 36 months old. The surgical technique results in a systemic venous blood flow to the lungs without passing through a ventricle. This is an effective way to treat complex congenital heart disease in patients who have single ventricle physiology—and a more predictable way to ensure the child will thrive after the procedure.
Throughout their lives, people who have undergone the Fontan procedure are at a higher risk of arrhythmias, chronic liver disease, heart failure, renal failure and more. As a result, they need careful and thoughtful ongoing surveillance.
Our Fontan program is dedicated to providing specialized care to patients with significant heart defects who have undergone a Fontan procedure. Our multidisciplinary team provides comprehensive care backed by the latest research and innovations. These dedicated experts improve the quality of life for patients with Fontan circulation through early detection and treatment of long-term complications and minimizing barriers to care.
Our team of pediatric specialists provides all the interconnected care a Fontan patient will ever need—before the procedure and through adulthood. Our patients’ quality of life dramatically improves when the family and referring provider are part of the team. Their insights, perspectives and involvement are invaluable to coordinated care planning.
Our program is carefully structured to give our patients access to many of the highly specialized and multidisciplinary providers they need within a single office visit. Not only is this holistic structure more cost-effective for our patients, but it also saves them the stress and complexity of coordinating multiple visits. Most importantly, our experts believe this collaborative approach to care makes it easier to detect health issues sooner and treat possible long-term complications faster.
The Arkansas Children’s Heart Institute is more than a regional destination. We are a nationally ranked leader for specialized pediatric care.
Learn more about Arkansas Children's Heart Institute
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