Hemitruncus is a rare congenital anomaly in which one pulmonary artery branch, usually the right, arises from the ascending aorta just above the aortic sinuses, whereas the main pulmonary artery and the other pulmonary branch arise in their normal position. The authors present a case in which the patient was diagnosed as having hemitruncus as an adult, and to the best of their knowledge only 7 similar cases have been reported in the medical literature.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Duncan WJ, Freedom RM, Olley PM, et al: Two-dimensional echocardiographic identification of hemitruncus: Anomalous origin of one pulmonary artery from ascending aorta with the other pulmonary artery arising normally from right ventricle. Am Heart J102:892-896, 1981.
2.
Fontana GP, Spach MS, Effman EL, et al: Origin of the right pulmonary artery from the ascending aorta . Ann Surg206:102-113, 1987.
3.
Sechtem U., Jungehulusing M., Vivie DR, et al: Left hemitruncus in adulthood: Diagnostic role of magnetic resonance imaging. Eur Heart J12:1040-1044, 1991 .
4.
Effman EL: Development of the right and left pulmonary arteries: A microangiographic study in the mouse. Invest Radiol17:529-538, 1982.
5.
Schneiderman LJ: Isolated congenital absence of the right pulmonary artery; a caution as to its diagnosis and a proposal for its embryogenesis. Report of a case with review. Am Heart J55:772-780, 1958.
6.
Snider AR, Silverman NH: Suprasternal notch echocardiography: A two-dimensional technique for evaluating congenital heart disease. Circulation63:165-173, 1981.