Atelectasis of the left lung induced by subcarinal pulmonary artery sling

Pulmonary artery sling is an unusual cause of respiratory distress in the neonatal period. Despite the use of conventional diagnostic tools such as ECHO or angiography, delineation of the course of the pulmonary artery and its relationship with the neighbouring bronchus may be difficult. We describe an infant with complete collapse of the left lung due to an aberrant left pulmonary artery in whom the combination of axial CT and three-dimensional reconstruction was of great value in facilitating the diagnosis and surgical planning.