The diagnosis of aortic septal defect by retrograde aortography; report of a case.

This rare congenital malformation is a round or oval opening between the ascending aorta and the main pulmonary artery above the semilunar valves. It is practically impossible to differentiate this malformation from a patent ductus arteriosus clinically because both malformations may present the same physical, fluoroscopic, roentgen and electrocardiographic findings. Even angiocardiography and cardiac catheterization do not differentiate these congenital malformations. The authors have studied 2 patients with aortic septal defects. One was operated at another clinic for a suspected patent ductus arteriosus, and the other case presented here was diagnosed by retrograde aortography.