Found this really good description of the Fontan Procedure for those who want to know more (see below link) - also, many thanks to Rachel Faul, the creator of this illustration - click here to visit Rachel's site: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-doctors-treat-a-hypoplastic-heart/.
To see the article, click here: http://www.chd-uk.co.uk/types-of-chd-and-operations/fontan-completion-surgery/. They don't use a lot of medical jargon so it's easier to imagine the process they are talking about. Shrav did have the BT Shunt and the Bi-directional Glenn procedures mentioned in this article.
The drawing above is the best representation that I have found for clearly seeing the re-routing of blood that takes place. After the Fontan is complete, Shravani's heart will only be concerned with pumping oxygenated blood out to her body. The ' blue' blood that needs oxygen will travel passively to her lungs without the help of a pump.
2 comments:
Please link back to my original instructable somewhere in this blog post. I'm fine with anyone using the illustration, but I've released it through the creative commons, with the "attribution" condition. The instructable is here: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-doctors-treat-a-hypoplastic-heart/
Thanks so much!
Rachel, thank you for letting me know! Will add the link to the original post. It has been a year since our surgery, but your illustration helped me to show everyone more clearly what was happening. Bless You and your Family!
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