Double-inlet ventricle: morphologic analysis and surgical implications in 32 cases.

We analyzed, using a sequential segmental approach, 32 cases of double-inlet ventricle to assess the feasibility of surgical "correction" by either ventricular septation or a modified Fontan procedure. Twenty-two hearts had two atrioventricular valves, connected to a left ventricle in 19, a right ventricle in two, and a solitary indeterminate ventricle in one. Septation was possible in only 13. In contrast, the Fontan procedure seemed feasible in 20. The remaining 10 specimens had double inlet via a common valve to the left ventricle in two, the right ventricle in six, and an indeterminate ventricle in two. Seven of these had right atrial isomerism. Ventricular septation was not considered a possibility in these hearts. The Fontan procedure combined with atrial septation was a possibility in seven cases. From the morphologic stance, although the modified Fontan procedure seemed suitable in most cases, a significant number of hearts with two atrioventricular valves were suitable for ventricular septation.