• Weiguang Yang, Irene E Vignon-Clementel, Guillaume Troianowski, V Mohan Reddy, Jeffrey A Feinstein, and Alison L Marsden.
• Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093-0411, USA.
• J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 2012 May 1;143(5):1086-97.

ObjectivesA novel Y-shaped baffle has been proposed for the Fontan operation with promising initial results. However, previous studies have relied either on idealized models or a single patient-specific model. The objective of this study is to comprehensively compare the hemodynamic performance and hepatic blood flow distribution of the Y-graft Fontan baffle with 2 current designs using multiple patient-specific models.MethodsY-shaped and tube-shaped grafts were virtually implanted into 5 patient-specific Glenn models forming 3 types of Fontan geometries: Y-graft, T-junction, and offset. Unsteady flow simulations were performed at rest and at varying exercise conditions. The hepatic flow distribution between the right and left lungs was carefully quantified using a particle tracking method. Other physiologically relevant parameters such as energy dissipation, superior vena cava pressure, and wall shear stress were evaluated.ResultsThe Fontan geometry significantly influences the hepatic flow distribution. The Y-graft design improves the hepatic flow distribution effectively in 4 of 5 patients, whereas the T-junction and offset designs may skew as much as 97% of hepatic flow to 1 lung in 2 cases. Sensitivity studies show that changes in pulmonary flow split can affect the hepatic flow distribution dramatically but that some Y-graft and T-junction designs are relatively less sensitive than offset designs. The Y-graft design offers moderate improvements over the traditional designs in power loss and superior vena cava pressure in all patients.ConclusionsThe Y-graft Fontan design achieves overall superior hemodynamic performance compared with traditional designs. However, the results emphasize that no one-size-fits-all solution is available that will universally benefit all patients and that designs should be customized for individual patients before clinical application.Copyright © 2012 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

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