Annie did a nice job explaining some of the possibilities that lie ahead for "3G". Since I tend to think in pictures I thought I would post a diagram of one of the procedural possibilities that may be used to help 3G's heart function. If you are praying for 3G, pray that everything related to the right side of her heart would grow. Amazingly, in the event that the right side does not reach an adequate size, it is possible to use the left ventricle to do all the pumping and re-route everything to ensure blood-flow to the lungs. In the pictures below, the first one is a normal heart. The second is a heart with a hypo-plastic (small/undeveloped) right ventricle. The pictures are numbered in connection with the notes below. It may not be necessary for 3G. Or it may not be exactly what is used if necessary, but it will give you a general idea.
- A single ventricle anomaly with a modified Blalock-Taussig shunt supplying pulmonary blood flow.
- Single normal-sized ventricle, the other ventricle is severely hypoplastic.
- Bidirectional Glenn Shunt: The superior vena cava has been connected to the right pulmonary artery.
- The Blalock-Taussig shunt is now divided.
- The Fontan operation: The inferior vena caval blood has been routed to the pulmonary artery, in this example using the extra-cardiac conduit technique.
http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/heart-encyclopedia/anomalies/graphicsummaries/svgs.htm
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