title: A case of coronary artery fistula between a coronary artery and the left atrium following maze procedure.
abstract: The authors report a case of a coronary artery fistula (CAF) after mitral valvuloplasty and a maze procedure. A 73-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with congestive heart failure. He had undergone mitral valvuloplasty and a maze procedure 10 years previously. An abnormal Doppler flow signal in the left atrium was incidentally found on transthoracic echocardiography. It was diagnosed as a CAF on transesophageal echocardiography and other imaging modalities. The detection of the abnormal flow just after the operation suggested a causal relationship between this fistula and the preceding surgical procedure. Acquired CAF following cardiac surgery is a rare abnormality. However, if abnormal flow is found on transthoracic echocardiography after cardiac surgery, this abnormality should be kept in mind.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, National Cardiovascular Center, Fujishirodai, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohara
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakatani
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sumita
authors.forename: Junjirou
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitakaze
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003330:Coronary Vessel Anomalies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal / Q000379:methods*; D005402:Fistula / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D033162:Incidental Findings; D008297:Male