In a univentricular heart either the left or right ventricle is underdeveloped. This usually affects the valves and outflow tract connected to the ventricle.
Back to heart libraryHypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) with mitral stenosis and aortic atresia. This patient had a Norwood/Sano operation. This model is coloured to show the deoxygenated (blue) blood and oxygenated (red) blood, which mixes within the heart (indicated as purple). The colouring is meant to explain the physiology and blood flow in a heart after a Norwood/Sono procedure.
explore modelHypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) post Glenn, pre-transplant assessment. This coloured bloodpool model shows the mixing of blue deoxygenated blood and red oxygenated blood. Colouring is not based on scientific data. In hypoplastic left heart syndrome, the left ventricle is very small. The Glenn surgery connects the superior vena cava (SVC) to the pulmonary arteries to allow the deoxygenated blood returning from the upper body to bypass the heart and travel to the lungs directly.
explore modelAn unbalanced AVSD (the left ventricle is very small) and Fontan physiology. The Fontan procedure connects the inferior vena cava (IVC) to the right pulmonary artery. Now all the deoxygenated blood from the body bypasses the heart and directly enters the lungs. There is also a small hole between the Fontan conduit and the right atrium which is called a fenestration. The fenestration allows a small amount of the blue deoxygenated blood from the Fontan conduit to enter the heart where the red oxygenated blood is located. This fenestration is meant to relieve some pressure by acting as a "pop-off valve" until the lungs adjust to the new circulation.
explore modelThis is a model of a patient with an unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) with a hypoplastic left ventricle who underwent a Fontan procedure as the final stage of the surgical palliation. This is a myocardial model, meaning that you are seeing the muscle of the heart rather than the blood inside the heart. This model has been coloured to demonstrate the presumed oxygen saturations within the different chambers and blood vessels of the heart in the setting of a Fontan fenestration. You can see that there is a small amount of deoxygenated (blue) blood that is able to travel from the Fontan conduit into the right atrium through the Fontan fenestration.
explore modelThis is a model of a patient with an unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) with a hypoplastic left ventricle who underwent a Fontan procedure as the final stage of the surgical palliation. This is a myocardial model, meaning that you are seeing the muscle of the heart rather than the blood inside the heart. This model has been coloured to demonstrate the presumed oxygen saturations within the different chambers and blood vessels of the heart. In this model, there is no Fontan fenestration present.
explore model