Left superior caval vein: a powerful indicator of fetal coarctation.

Absent right superior caval vein (vena cava) with normal atrial arrangement.

Eight cases of absent right superior caval vein (vena cava) with normal atrial arrangement from the Great Ormond Street database were reviewed. In each case the right subclavian vein and jugular vein drained into a persistent left superior caval vein through a bridging vein. In six cases the left superior caval vein drained into the right atrium by way of the coronary sinus, and in two cases it...

Suprasternal notch echocardiography: a two-dimensional technique for evaluating congenital heart disease.

Two-dimensional suprasternal notch echocardiography was performed in 1033 patients, ages 1 day to 18 years. For the long-axis suprasternal notch view, the transducer was positioned in the suprasternal notch and angled to obtain a plane passing between the right nipple and left scapular tip. In this view, the entire aortic arch, vessels to the head and neck, right pulmonary artery and right bron...

Use of an Amplatzer ductal occluder to close a persistent left superior caval vein which reopened after a total cavopulmonary anastomosis.

A 7-year-old boy developed increasing cyanosis after a total cavopulmonary connection with a 3 mm fenestration in the baffle. Catheterisation performed 4 years and 7 months after the operation showed reopening of a left superior caval vein draining into the pulmonary venous atrium. Due to the large size of the left superior caval vein, and the absence of intrinsic stenosis, we chose to use an A...

Timing of presentation and postnatal outcome of infants suspected of having coarctation of the aorta during fetal life.

OBJECTIVE To report the timing of presentation and clinical profile of a cohort of fetuses with normal main cardiac connections but fetal echocardiographic signs suggestive of coarctation of the aorta. DESIGN Retrospective observational study. SETTING Tertiary fetal and paediatric cardiology centre. PATIENTS Between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2002, 174 fetuses were studied, of whom 14...

Persistent left superior vena cava. Use of an innominate vein between left and right superior caval veins for the placement of a right ventricular lead during ICD/CRT implantation.