A univentricular heart : tricuspid atresia

Abstract

A two-year-three-month-old boy was diagnosed with tricuspid atresia. This condition requires three surgical interventions, of which he has already had two. He has now presented to hospital with shortness of breath. This implies that he might now benefit from the third operation. Investigations, which were planned beforehand, will assess whether he is a candidate for this operation, that will improve his symptoms and hence his quality of life. Tricuspid atresia is the third most common cyanotic congenital heart disease. Patients with tricuspid atresia lack a tricuspid valve between the right atrium and right ventricle. Therefore, there is no right atrioventricular communication and as a result the right ventricle remains hypoplastic and undeveloped. These patients are thus left with only one functioning ventricle i.e.: the left ventricle, hence the term univentricular heart. Other defects that are present in patients with tricuspid atresia include an atrial septal defect (ASD), a ventricular septal defect (VSD) and possibly a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).