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A Pipeline to Characterize Structural Heart Defects in the Fetal Mouse
Published on: December 16, 2022
Aortic atresia with aortico-left ventricular tunnel mimicking severe aortic incompetence in utero
Matthias Siepe1, Sven Dittrich, Friedhelm Beyersdorf
1Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital Freiburg, Hugstetter Str. 55, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany. matthias.siepe@web.de
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.
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