The Hemi-Fontan procedure is the second of three operations for children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and other types of single ventricle physiology. This procedure is generally performed at 6 months of age. The Hemi-Fontan consists of anastomosis of the superior vena cava (SVC) to the right pulmonary artery, augmentation of the branch pulmonary arteries and patch closure of the communication between the superior vena cava and the right atrium.
After the Hemi-Fontan procedure, the blue blood returning from the upper body through the SVC is immediately diverted to the lungs, without passing through the heart. This blood becomes oxygenated in the lungs and returns to the left atrium. This red or oxygenated blood then passes through the atrial communication into the right atrium. The deoxygenated blood from the lower body enters the right atrium through the inferior vena cava (IVC); there it mixes with the oxygenated blood from lungs. The mixed blood then passes into the right ventricle and is pumped out into the reconstructed aorta to supply the body. The importance of this procedure is that it relieves the single ventricle of having to pump an excess volume of blood. Prior to this procedure, the ventricle is pumping both to the body and to the lungs. Following the Hemi-Fontan, the ventricle pumps only to the body, since the lung is supplied with blood flow directly from the superior vena cava.