The Glenn Shunt Revisited, A Single Center Registry in Ain Shams University, Cardiology Department

Abstract

he bidirectional Glenn operation was introduced clinically by Azzolina in 1972 and is well established palliative procedure for single ventricular heart. At present, bidirectional Glenn shunt is typically performed as one step of the staging procedure in preparation for a Fontan procedure or as a long-term palliation for high-risk Fontan candidate. Moreover, registries of patients with bidirectional Glenn shunt have been instrumental in characterizing the presentation, quality of life and complications during follow ups. Establishing a first of a kind registry in Egypt will provide us a unique data tailored to our country. Our registry included 178 patients who underwent bidirectional Glenn procedure referred for follow up in Ain Shams university hospital from January 2019 till July 2020. The mean age of the registry was 18.7 ± 8.26 (range between 5 and 37 years), 85 males (48%) and 93 Females (52%). Regarding the basic anatomy, double outlet right ventricle was the commonest. Furthermore, our descriptive study confirmed many characteristic similarities between our patients and patients in developing countries. Our patients underwent bidirectional Glenn shunt at a median age of 6 years which is considered a relatively old age but similar to others studies that have been made in developing countries like Pakistan, India and Iran. There is a significant delay in the operation in Egyptians patients due to lack of patients awareness, few number of primary health care facilities and high economic burden.