Restrictive Tunnel Patent Foramen Ovale and Left Atrial Hypertension in Single-Ventricle Physiology: Implications for Stent Placement Across the Atrial Septum

Our objective is to describe our approach to the management of patients with single-ventricle physiology and restrictive tunnel patent foramen ovale (TPFO) with unfavorable atrial septal morphology. We describe a series of five patients with single-ventricle physiology and restrictive TPFO and our experience with radiofrequency perforation (RFP), static balloon atrial septostomy (BAS), and stent implantation to create an alternative pathway for left atrial decompression. Between July 4, 2006, and July 10, 2007, five patients with single-ventricle physiology and restrictive TPFO were brought to the cardiac catheterization laboratory for decompression of a hypertensive left atrium. Four of five patients underwent RFP followed by static BAS and stent implantation across the newly created atrial communication. One patient had a stent placed across an existing TPFO. Unfortunately, stable stent position was not achieved in this case, and the patient required open atrial septectomy. In patients with single-ventricle physiology and a restrictive TPFO associated with left atrial hypertension, stent placement across the existing defect can result in unstable stent position. Using a RFP wire to create a new defect in the septum primum allows stable stent deployment across the atrial septum and achieves left atrial decompression.