[Echocardiographic diagnosis of total anomalous pulmonary venous return]

Based on experience with the examination of 33 children with total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVD), the authors submit on account of basic echocardiographic (ECHO) findings and the examination procedure in TAPVD. The findings of two-dimensional ECHO reveal a typical enlargement of the right atrium and ventricle; in the four-chamber projection the pulmonary veins do not enter the left atrium but they join behind the left atrium. The site of the orifice of TAPVD in supracardial TAPVDS is found from a suprasternal approach, in intracardial TAPVD in the four-chamber projection, in infradiaphragmatic TAPVD from a subcostal approach. Doppler echocardiography reveals an impaired venous flow in the confluent on the pulmonary veins and in structures into which the pulmonary veins lead. ECHO makes it possible to assess the diagnosis of TAPVD by a non-invasive approach, to find the site of the orifice and indicate operation without the use of invasive examination methods.