Fontan procedure

The Fontan procedure is a palliative surgical procedure used in children with complex congenital heart defects. It involves diverting the venous blood from the right atrium to the pulmonary arteries without passing through the morphologic right ventricle; i.e., the systemic and pulmonary circulations are placed in series with the functional single ventricle. It was initially described in 1971 by Dr. Francois Marie Fontan (1929 – ) from Bordeaux, France, and later in 1973 by Dr. Guillermo Kreutzer from Buenos Aires, Argentina (1934 – ) separately as a surgical treatment for tricuspid atresia.