Unilateral pulmonary artery atresia in an adult: A case report

Unilateral pulmonary artery atresia (UPAA), while encountered frequently in the congenital cardiac anomaly cohort, is occasionally diagnosed in adulthood after typical symptoms of hemoptysis, pulmonary infection, or as an incidental finding on contrast CT scan. Due to its rarity, a brief discussion of UPAA and its treatment is warranted.

A 35 year old male presented with three days of hemoptysis. After diagnosis of right UPAA, he underwent angioembolization of 6 large systemic collaterals supplying his right lung, followed by right pneumonectomy. He was discharged on post-operative day 3, and at follow up 6 weeks later was doing well with minimal residual incisional pain and excellent pulmonary reserve.

UPAA presents classically with hemoptysis, but also with pneumonia, pulmonary hypertension, or incidentally. Management includes selective collateral embolization, pneumonectomy, or medical management directed towards decreasing pulmonary hypertension in patients unable to tolerate pneumonectomy due to comorbidities. Pneumonectomy in these patients is characterized by dense and hypervascular adhesions, with large volume blood loss expected during adhesiolysis, which can be decreased with pre-operative embolization. Outcomes are typically excellent in otherwise healthy patients.