Cardiovascular malformations and oesophageal atresia.

compared with 40 out of I56 patients (25.6%) who had oesophageal atresia with no other malformations. Persistent ductus arteriosus was the commonest lesion, followed by ventricular septal defect, secundum atrial septal defect, right-sided aortic arch, dextrocardia, anomalous right subclavian artery, and defects of the atrioventricular valves. Patients with cardiovascular malformations had a lower birthweight, a shorter gestation, and were more likely to have an abnormally low fetal growth rate. A right-sided aortic arch or an anomalous right subclavian artery in patients with oesophageal atresia should suggest the possibility of thymic orparathyroid hypoplasia or agenesis. Now that oesophageal atresia itself can be corrected, the associated cardiovascular malformations are of increasing importance.