Tetralogy of Fallot Surgical Repair: Shunt Configurations, Ductus Arteriosus and the Circle of Willis

In this study, hemodynamic performance of three novel shunt configurations that are considered for the surgical repair of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) disease are investigated in detail. Clinical experience suggests that the shunt location, connecting angle, and its diameter can influence the post-operative physiology and the neurodevelopment of the neonatal patient. An experimentally validated second order computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver and a parametric neonatal diseased great artery model that incorporates the ductus arteriosus (DA) and the full patient-specific circle of Willis (CoW) are employed. Standard truncated resistance CFD boundary conditions are compared with the full cerebral arterial system, which resulted 21, −13, and 37% difference in flow rate at the brachiocephalic, left carotid, and subclavian arteries, respectively. Flow splits at the aortic arch and cerebral arteries are calculated and found to change with shunt configuration significantly for TOF disease. The central direct shunt (direct shunt) has pulmonary flow 5% higher than central oblique shunt (oblique shunt) and 23% higher than modified Blalock Taussig shunt (RPA shunt) while the DA is closed. Maximum wall shear stress (WSS) in the direct shunt configuration is 9 and 60% higher than that of the oblique and RPA shunts, respectively. Patent DA, significantly eliminated the pulmonary flow control function of the shunt repair. These results suggests that, due to the higher flow rates at the pulmonary arteries, the direct shunt, rather than the central oblique, or right pulmonary artery shunts could be preferred by the surgeon. This extended model introduced new hemodynamic performance indices for the cerebral circulation that can correlate with the post-operative neurodevelopment quality of the patient.