Novel lateral tunnel Fontan operation in children promotes continued pathway growth into adulthood.

Objective: Most Fontan operation techniques currently used in children are limited by a blood flow pathway with no growth potential. The external pericardial lateral tunnel Fontan is a novel technique using the patient's pedicled pericardium and atrial wall in situ to create a Fontan pathway. We hypothesize that viable, autologous tissue will allow growth potential of the pathway and adapt to increasing physiologic demands of somatic growth.