Summary
A newborn baby with heart failure had ventricular septal defect and aorto-left atrial communication. Aortography demonstrated a large funnel-shaped vessel originating from a dilated left aortic sinus and opening into the base of the left atrial appendage. Open heart surgery was unsuccessful. Histological examination (750 serial sections) of the vessel including the adjoining aorta and left atrial appendage showed no evidence of coronary artery structures. To our knowledge, this represents the first case of congenital aortico-left atrial tunnel.
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Supported in part by grant RR-305 from the General Clinical Research Centers Program of the Division of Research Resources and by grant HE-07605-17 from the National Heart Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
Dr. Lev is a Career Investigator and Educator of the Chicago Heart Association.
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Yu, L.C., Bharati, S., Thilenius, O. et al. Congenital aortico-left atrial tunnel. Pediatr Cardiol 1, 153–158 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02083146
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02083146