This week we delve into the world of the single ventricle when we speak with Dr. David Hoganson, Assistant Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School about a recent work he co-published with investigators from Boston Children’s Hospital on computational fluid dynamic modeling in the planning of the Fontan operation. Single ventricle heterotaxy patients with interrupted IVC are at enhanced risk for the development of pulmonary AVM’s due to flow maldistribution to the pulmonary arteries from the hepatic veins in a Fontan. Can a computational fluid dynamic model predict which operative approach would result in the most balanced hepatic venous flow distribution? Can this reduce the incidence of pulmonary AVM’s? How well did the models predict the actual pulmonary flow measured after surgery on CMR? Who beyond the heterotaxy patient might benefit from this approach? Dr. Hoganson offers us a peek into the world of personalized surgery in this week’s exciting episode.         

DOI: 10.1016/j.jacadv.2024.101057