Outcomes after single-stage Fontan palliation: A propensity score-matched analysis from the Australian and…

Cohort studyThe Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery· Jun 2026

Outcomes after single-stage Fontan palliation: A propensity score-matched analysis from the Australian and New Zealand Fontan Registry.

Supreet P Marathe, Siddharth Amboli, Jacob Cao … Nelson Alphonso

Congenital Cardiac SurgeryCohort studyTreatmentQ1IF 2.1

Single-stage vs staged Fontan operation showed similar rates of Fontan failure

Outcomes after single-stage Fontan palliation: A propensity score-matched analysis from the Australian and New Zealand Fontan Registry.

Supreet P Marathe … Nelson Alphonso

The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery · Jun 2026 · Q1 in Respiratory Medicine

Background

Although the Fontan operation was originally performed as a single-stage procedure, staged palliation is currently the preferred approach.

Purpose

The current study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of the single-stage Fontan operation.

Methods

With atriopulmonary Fontan connections were excluded.

n = 262 patients

Results

no meaningful difference in fontan failure risk between approaches

HR 0.90 (95% CI 0.60 to 1.35)

null 1

0.60

1.35

CI crosses the null - not significant

More results

Patients who underwent a single-stage Fontan operation (n = 176) were compared with those who underwent a staged Fontan operation (n = 1421).

Propensity score matching yielded 262 patients (131 pairs) with similar freedom from Fontan failure (P = .72).

There was no difference between the 2 groups in early complications or secondary endpoints.

“

Conclusion · 1 of 2

In a large binational Fontan population, 11% of patients underwent a single-stage Fontan operation over 48 years.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

There was no difference in the incidence of freedom from Fontan failure, chylothorax, or reinterventions between patients who underwent a staged Fontan operation and those who underwent a single-stage Fontan operation.

Outcomes after single-stage Fontan palliation: A propensity score-matched analysis from the Australian and New Zealand Fontan Registry.

Outcomes after single-stage Fontan palliation: A propensity score-matched analysis from the Australian and New Zealand Fontan Registry.

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