[Pulmonary artery sling--diagnostic difficulties]

The pulmonary artery sling is a very rare vascular anomaly which consists in improper branching off and course of the left pulmonary artery. This artery presses on the trachea causing significant symptoms on the part of the respiratory system such as dyspnea, stridor or cyanosis. The authors present the case of a 17-month-old boy who had dyspnea incidents for several times while the reason was unknown. It was only after the X-ray examination of the chest with barium in the esophagus was carried out alongside the bronchoscopy, followed by the echocardigraphic and angiocardiographic examinations that the pulmonary artery sling was found to be reason for those incidences.