We conducted a retrospective study of 78 patients who underwent palliative reconstructive operation for hypoplastic left heart syndrome representing an entire consecutive experience between 1983 and 1991 to identify predictors of mortality that might enable more appropriate triage of patients to either reconstruction or transplantation. Twenty-nine patients had aortic atresia, mitral atresia; 18 had aortic stenosis, mitral stenosis; 20 had aortic atresia and mitral stenosis; and 11 had miscellaneous forms of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. There were 29 hospital deaths (37%). A worst preoperative pH (p = 0.01) and immediate preoperative pH (p = 0.03) less than the median were predictors of hospital mortality. The anatomic subgroup aortic atresia, mitral stenosis (p = 0.06) had a possible increased hospital mortality. One patient was lost to follow-up. The Kaplan-Meier survival estimate among hospital survivors was 34% at 3 years and 25% at 5 years. The anatomic subgroup aortic atresia, mitral atresia (p = 0.02) had a worse late outcome (11% 3-year survival) whereas the subgroup aortic stenosis, mitral stenosis (p = 0.04; 76% 3-year survival) had a better late outcome. There were no other significant predictors of late survival other than immediate prerepair pH (p = 0.05). Interpretation of this experience is complicated by the large number of different surgical techniques used for both first-stage neonatal reconstruction and the Fontan procedure plus introduction of the bidirectional Glenn shunt as an intermediate step midway through the experience. Nevertheless in this time frame and with the variety of techniques used, this experience demonstrates that patients with aortic atresia, mitral atresia, particularly those who have been very acidotic in the neonatal period, are least likely to do well with the reconstructive approach to hypoplastic left heart syndrome and are the most appropriate subgroup to be directed to transplantation. Patients with aortic stenosis, mitral stenosis have an excellent late outcome with the reconstructive approach.