Glenn surgery: A safe procedure in the path of univentricular correction

Abstract

Background: This study describes 35 years of experience in a tertiary care level hospital that treats cardiac patients with univentricular heart physiology who underwent Glenn surgery. Methods: The study consisted of a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent Glenn surgery, including variables related to pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative morbidity and mortality. Results: From 1980 to 2015, 204 Glenn surgeries were performed. The most common heart disease was tricuspid atresia IB (19.2%). In 48.1% of the cases, the procedure was performed with antegrade flow. A bilateral Glenn procedure was performed in 12.5% of the cases and 10.3% were carried out without using a cardiopulmonary bypass pump. Reported complications included infections, bleeding, arrhythmias, chylothorax, neurological alterations, and pleural effusion. The mortality rate was 2.9%. Conclusions: Glenn surgery is a palliative surgery with good results. It significantly improves patient quality of life over a long period until a total cavopulmonary shunt is performed. The complications observed are few, and the mortality rate is low. Therefore, it is a safe surgery that should be used for univentricular congenital heart disease.