Imaging complex congenital heart disease — functional single ventricle, the Glenn circulation and the Fontan circulation: A multimodality approach

Abstract

Patients with functional single ventricle heart disease undergo a series of palliative surgeries, typically culminating in a Fontan-type circulation. For the past three decades, the primary cardiac imaging modalities used to follow such patients have been echocardiography and catheter angiography. With the advent and rapid development of cardiac magnetic resonance and cardiac computed tomography over the past decade, these modalities offer novel techniques and capabilities to evaluate the single ventricle circulation. This article reviews the surgical management of the patient with functional single ventricle, and then explores the role of various imaging modalities in this setting with an emphasis on these newer techniques.