more than 30 years ago, fontan and baudet proposed bypass of a dysfunctional right ventricle by connecting the pulmonary arteries directly to the right atrium, the so-called atriopulmonary anastomosis. since then, much experience has been accrued in the field of the functionally univentricular circulation. the proposed connections have been subjected to several modifications, aiming towards minimizing the losses of energy in the cavopulmonary system, and thereby improving the clinical outcomes. a remarkable improvement was achieved with the introduction of the concept of the total cavopulmonary connection, specifically the combination of a bi-directional glenn anastomosis with a tubular intracardiac extension from the inferior caval venous to the pulmonary arteries. this design was shown to avoid the dissipation of energy associated with the swirling patterns seen in the traditional atrio-pulmonary anastomosis.