Anomalous origin of a pulmonary artery branch from the aorta is a rare congenital cardiac malformation. We report the case of a neonate with this rare entity.
Case studyA full-term asymptomatic female neonate with a systolic murmur was referred to our department for a cardiology review.
The echocardiogram failed to show the left pulmonary artery branch. The remaining examination was normal. For clarification, a computed tomography angiogram was performed. It showed the left pulmonary artery branch arising from the anterior aspect of the proximal descending thoracic aorta (Figures 1 and 2), 13mm below the area from which the left subclavian artery arises. A diagnosis of anomalous origin of the left pulmonary artery was made.
To quantify pulmonary pressure, the patient underwent cardiac catheterization (Figures 3 and 4) at one year of age, which excluded pulmonary arterial hypertension.
To the best of our knowledge, only two other cases with the same anatomical features have been reported in the literature. In the majority of cases, the right pulmonary artery branch is involved and usually arises from the posterolateral aspect of the ascending aorta.
Conflicts of interestThe authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.