Conclusão: A técnica de conduto intracardíaco foi associada a menor morbidade pós-operatória, sendo a opção atual do nosso serviço na anastomose cavopulmonar total.

Objectives: Recent experimental flow studies based on angiography and magnetic resonance have shown that total cavopulmonary anastomosis (TCPA) is a valid concept for surgical treatment of many congenital heart defects, but there is not agreement of the best surgical arrangement. Our purpose is to analyze the immediate results with three different techniques of TCPA. Methods: We sought to analyze retrospectively all TCPA realized from January 2005 to July 2008; there were 40 patients, all with previous Glenn anastomosis, with mean age of 6.4 ± 3.2 years. Three different techniques were employed: Group 1 (G1) lateral tunnel, Group 2 (G2) extracardiac conduits, Group 3 (G3) intracardiac conduit directed to the left pulmonary artery. All patients had a fenestration done. Results: G1 had 11 patients, G2 10 patients and G3 19 patients. Preoperative data were similar in the 3 groups (P>0.05). Surgical mortality was higher in Groups 1 and 2 (9.1% and 10%) compared to Group 3 (0%) but there was no statistical significance (P=0.3841). Pleural effusion was