Anatomy of Aortic Atresia

appropriate, and perhaps even life-saving, to start a PGE1 infusion before transfer of an infant to a center for definitive diagnostic evaluation by echocardiography and cardiac catheterization. However, systemic output also may be improved in infants with hypoplastic left heart syndrome; this has been our experience. Since clinical differentiation between hypoplastic left heart syndrome and other forms of left ventricular outflow obstruction is often difficult, it may be preferable to improve systemic blood flow temporarily in an occasional infant with the hypoplastic left heart syndrome than delay this in infants with surgically correctable lesions such as coarctation or interruption of the aorta.