APLASIA OF THE LEFT PULMONARY-ARTERY

We report three patients with aplasia of left pulmonary artery. One pa tient presented with isolated aplasia of the left lung, the two others had complex congenital heart defects: truncus arteriosus comunis in o ne, VSD with pulmonary stenosis in the other. The patient with pulmona ry aplasia was asymptomatic, while the others suffered mainly from the ir severe cardiac malformations. The diagnosis could be suspected afte r echocardiographic examination. For further haemodynamic and anatomic evaluation heart catheterization was necessary. Surgical therapy for improvement of blood supply to the lung was not possible. The embryolo gical mechanism of the malformation seem to be different: of pulmonary aplasia is due to disturbances of the enlage of the pulmonary parench yma in the other patients vascular degeneration resulting from missed septation of the saccus aorticus are suspected.