@Article{Zientarska2026,
journal="Clinical and Experimental Hepatology - Manuscripts Accepted",
issn="2392-1099",
year="2026",
title="Fontan-associated liver disease in children following surgical correction of congenital heart defects",
abstract="             The  Fontan procedure is a palliative surgical strategy used in the  management of severe congenital heart defects, resulting in the  creation of a single-ventricle circulation. In this  physiological configuration, venous blood from the systemic  circulation flows directly into the pulmonary arteries, bypassing the  heart muscle. The operation is typically performed in early  childhood and significantly improves long-term prognosis, enabling  survival into the third decade of life and beyond. Over time,  however, children and young adults develop complications related to  the altered circulatory system, including chronic liver disease  predominantly driven by passive hepatic congestion. This condition  leads to progressive hepatic fibrosis, cirrhosis, and, in  a substantial proportion of patients, hepatocellular carcinoma.  Consequently, lifelong interdisciplinary specialist care, including  structured hepatological follow-up, is required from early childhood.  Progressive liver disease in children with altered cardiovascular  physiology poses distinct diagnostic and therapeutic challenges.        ",
author="Zientarska, Agata
and Ludwikowska, Kamila
and Szenborn, Leszek",
doi="10.5114/ceh.2026.161430",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.5114/ceh.2026.161430"
}