Anomalous Origin of the Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery: Pre- and Postoperative Echocardiography Findings in Three Unusual Cases

Diagnosis of anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery was prospectively established by color Doppler echocardiography in three patients. In two asymptomatic girls, aged 10 years and 5 years respectively, referred for evaluation of a murmur with normal ECG and chest X ray, two-dimensional and pulsed-Doppler examination showed no intracardiac abnormalities. Color flow mapping detected flow in a dilated right coronary artery and left coronary artery to pulmonary artery shunting. Color guided pulsed-Doppler examination permitted further evaluation of coronary flow. Another child had a dilated cardiomyopathy with an echo-dense anterolateral papillary muscle and mitral insufficiency. Postoperative echoes after subclavian to left coronary artery anastomosis and ligation of the left coronary artery at its origin showed residual high-velocity shunting resulting in reoperation in one case and a moderate supravalvular pulmonic stenosis in another. These findings further emphasize the benefit of color Doppler echocardiography in the pre- and postoperative evaluation of anomalous left coronary artery. (ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY, Volume 8, September 1991)