The Fontan operation is the surgical repair for many children born with complex congenital heart defects. Some of the heart defects that would necessitate a Fontan would be Tricuspid Atresia, Severe Pulmonary Stenosis or Pulmonary Atresia, Single Ventricle, Transposition of the Great Vessels with Double Outlet Right Ventricle and Pulmonary Stenosis and as a Second Stage Norwood Procedure in children born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.
Blood returns to the heart by the veins.
Blood enters the right atrium or upper chamber of the heart, goes into the right ventricle and is pumped out of the heart into the pulmonary artery. The aorta is the largest artery in the body. The blood leaves the aorta and eventually enters smaller arteries and capillaries that supply the tissues and cells of the body. As the blood flows through the lungs, it picks up oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. Oxygenated blood leaves the blood vessels of the lungs and enters the left atrium of the heart, goes to the ventricle and is pumped out of the heart into the aorta.