Glenn shunt: Effect on pleural drainage after modified Fontan operation

After the Fontan operation, patients who had a prior Glenn anastomosis should have less pleural drainage than patients without a prior Glenn anastomosis because innominate and pleural vein and thoracic duct pressures are unaltered in the former group. To test this hypothesis, we studied 92 patients who had had a Fontan operation between 1973 and 1986—46 with a prior Glenn anastomosis and 46 without a prior Glenn anastomosis (controls)—who were matched for age, gender, diagnosis, and number of prior shunt operations. The volume of pleural drainage was significantly less (p < 0.05) in the patients with a prior Glenn anastomosis (median 1,959 ml or 48.2 ml/kg) than in the control patients (median, 3,220 ml or 83.4 ml/kg). Similar results were obtained among the patients matched for prior right thoracotomy (n = 28; 1,270 ml and 2,942 ml; p = 0.028). There was no significant difference between the two groups with respect to ventricular end-diastolic pressure, mean right atrial pressure, mean pulmonary artery pressure, duration of total or differential (right side versus left side) effusion, duration of hospital stay, or hospital or late death.