[Aortic atresia with hypoplastic left ventricle. Bidimensional echocardiographic correlation. Anatomy of 14 cases]

Fourteen cases (10 males, 4 females) of aortic atresia with hypoplastic left ventricle are reviewed. All were studied by two-dimensional echocardiography, treated by prostaglandin E1 and proved by necropsy. Surgery was also performed in 3 cases by Norwood technique. A good echo-anatomical correlation was found in the size of pulmonary artery (1.14 +/- 0.17 and 1.28 +/- 0.33 respectively), mitral valve (0.4 +/- 0.3 and 0.33 +/- 0.24) and aortic diameter ring with atresic valve (0.38 +/- 0.12 and 0.31 +/- 0.1). However, echocardiography overestimated the diameter of ascending aorta (p less than 0.001) and tricuspid valve (p less than 0.001) and the length of the left ventricle. These differences may be related to the greater distension of the aorta in vivo and to the difficulty of determining the exact direction of the ultrasounds. We conclude that two dimensional echocardiography is of great value not only for the diagnosis but also for the selection of patients for surgery.