Intrathoracic extracardiac shunts

Percutaneous treatment of anomalous systemic artery to pulmonary venous fistulas in children: Description of three cases and review of the literature

In the normal lung, the only communications between the systemic and pulmonary arterial systems are the connections between the bronchial and pulmonary arteries that occur at the respiratory bronchioles, where pulmonary and bronchial capillaries freely anastomose. Rarely, anomalous connections can occur between normal or aberrant systemic arteries and pulmonary vessels. We performed a comprehensive literature review of all available manuscripts on PubMed and Google Scholar that included a case report or case series with diagnosis of systemic artery to pulmonary venous fistulas who underwent percutaneous treatment. Furthermore, we report three cases of children diagnosed and treated in our Pediatric Cardiology Center.

Developmental lung anomalies in the adult: radiologic-pathologic correlation

Encountering a developmental lung anomaly in the adult can be a challenge, as the abnormality may be mistaken for something more sinister. The common anomalies encountered are classified into three broad categories: bronchopulmonary (lung bud) anomalies, vascular anomalies, and combined lung and vascular anomalies. The imaging features of these developmental anomalies at conventional radiography, ventilation-perfusion lung nuclear scanning, angiography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging are useful in differential diagnosis of thoracic lesions. Lung bud anomalies include agenesis, congenital bronchial atresia, congenital lobar emphysema, congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation, pulmonary bronchogenic cysts, tracheal or pig bronchus, and accessory cardiac bronchus. Vascular anomalies include interruption or absence of a main pulmonary artery, anomalous origin of the left pulmonary artery from the right, anomalous pulmonary venous drainage (partial or complete), and pulmonary arteriovenous malformation. Combined lung and vascular anomalies include the hypogenetic lung (scimitar) syndrome and bronchopulmonary sequestration, both intralobar and extralobar.

Thoracopulmonary hypogenesis with systemic artery-pulmonary vessel fistulae: report of a case

A patient seen with recurrent hemoptysis was found to have large systemic artery-pulmonary vessel fistulae. Associated anomalies were unique, and included hypogenetic left thorax, hypoplastic unilobar left lung, and dextrocardia. Left pneumonectomy was curative.

Congenital fistula between an aberrant systemic artery and a pulmonary vein without sequestration. A report of three cases

Three children had an arteriovenous fistula between an aberrant vessel from the descending aorta and a normal pulmonary vein in the posterior basal segment of a lung. The affected lung was otherwise normally developed. Only a few similar cases could be found in the literature.