ANOMALOUS ORIGIN OF THE RIGHT PULMONARY-ARTERY FROM THE ASCENDING AORTA - DIAGNOSIS BY MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING

Anomalous origin of the right pulmonary artery from the ascending aort a is a rare congenital anomaly. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was p erformed on three patients with anomalous origin of the right pulmonar y artery from the ascending aorta. ECG-gated, T1-weighted, spin-echo M RIs and cine MRIs were obtained. In one patient, postoperative MRI was also obtained. Echocardiography and cardiac catheterization were perf ormed in three patients and angiocardiography was performed in two. MR I clearly showed anomalous origin of the right pulmonary artery from t he posterior aspect of the ascending aorta, as well as combined anomal ies including patent ductus arteriosus, aortopulmonary window, and int erruption of the aortic arch in all three patients. Echocardiography m issed this anomaly in all three. We suggest that MRI is an accurate im aging modality in diagnosing anomalous origin of the right pulmonary a rtery from the ascending aorta, obviating the need to perform angiocar diography.