Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 3, 2026

Echocardiographic Evaluation of Atrial Communications before Transcatheter Closure
Published on: February 8, 2022
A Unique Intracardiac Shunt: Identifying Complex Anatomy in Reoperative Adult Congenital Heart Disease
Billie-Jean Martin1, Ivan M Rebeyka1, Jeffrey F Smallhorn2
1Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, University of Alberta Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Abstract:
Adult patients with repaired congenital heart disease are presenting with previously unseen types of residual lesions and consequences of prior repair. Patients with d-transposition of the great arteries repaired with atrial switch operations are returning with dysrhythmias and atrioventricular valve disease requiring intervention. We present the challenging case of a young adult with a residual shunt identified on preoperative three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography, the precise anatomy of which was only characterized intraoperatively.

