• Takuya Osawa, Thibault Schaeffer, Mervin Schmiel, Michelle Bao Hoa Nguyen Cong, Carolin Niedermaier, Paul Philipp Heinisch, Nicole Piber, Stanimir Georgiev, Alfred Hager, Peter Ewert, Jürgen Hörer, and Masamichi Ono.
• Department of Congenital and Pediatric Heart Surgery, German Heart Center Munich, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany; Division of Congenital and Pediatric Heart Surgery, University Hospital of Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany; Europäisches Kinderherzzentrum München, Munich, Germany.
• J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 2024 Oct 9.

ObjectiveTo clarify the association of the aortopulmonary collaterals (APCs)/venovenous collateral (VVCs) in patients with plastic bronchitis (PB) after the Fontan procedure.MethodsAll patients who underwent total cavopulmonary connection from 1994 to 2022 were reviewed. APCs/VVCs were detected using angiography. The impact of APC/VVCs, as well as other variables on the onset of plastic bronchitis, was evaluated.ResultsA total of 635 patients were included. Plastic bronchitis was observed in 15 (2.4%) patients, and the median duration between total cavopulmonary connection and the onset of plastic bronchitis was 1.1 years. Freedom from PB at 5 and 10 years was 97.5% and 96.5%, respectively. As for the association of PB and APCs/VVCs, patients with PB had an increased incidence of post-total cavopulmonary connection APCs (60% vs 14%, P < .001) and VVCs (53% vs 14%, P < .001). Freedom from PB was the lowest in the patients who were associated with both APCs and VVCs after total cavopulmonary connection. APCs after total cavopulmonary connection (P = .002; hazard ratio, 5.729), VVCs after total cavopulmonary connection (P = .016; hazard ratio, 3.527), and chylothorax (P = .019; hazard ratio, 3.662) were identified as independently associated factors with the onset of PB.ConclusionsThe occurrence of post-Fontan APCs and VVCs was significantly associated with the development of PB. Treatment or mitigation of collaterals may represent an opportunity to prevent the development of PB, a remaining source of post-Fontan excess morbidity and mortality.Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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