Incorporation of the Hepatic Veins Into the Cavopulmonary Circulation in Patients With Heterotaxy and Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformations After a Kawashima Procedure

Hypoxemia resolved after cavopulmonary incorporation of the HV in the majority of our patients with PAVMs after the Kawashima operation, presumably due to a combination of PAVM resolution and elimination of hepatic venoatrial right-to-left shunting. These findings support the theory that development of PAVMs is facilitated by exclusion of HV effluent from the pulmonary circulation.