title: Aortic atresia with aortico-left ventricular tunnel mimicking severe aortic incompetence in utero.
abstract: A fetus was diagnosed with regurgitation from the aorta into the left ventricle. A large aortico-left ventricular tunnel with aortic atresia was identified postnatally by echocardiography in a neonate suffering from severe heart failure. We successfully reconstructed the valve and closed the tunnel with a patch on his first day of life. At three-month follow-up, the baby is asymptomatic with mild aortic regurgitation. The combination of congenital aortico-left ventricular tunnel and aortic atresia can be misinterpreted in prenatal echocardiography as aortic regurgitation. This pathology may require urgent operative interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital Freiburg, Hugstetter Str. 55, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany. matthias.siepe@web.de
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Siepe
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dittrich
authors.forename: Friedhelm
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Beyersdorf
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schlensak
mesh_terms: D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000601:surgery; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000002:abnormalities; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal