AORTIC ORIGIN OF THE RPA - IMMEDIATE RESOLUTION OF SEVERE PULMONARY-ARTERY HYPERTENSION BY SURGICAL REPAIR

Aortic origin of the right pulmonary artery (AORPA) is a rare conditio n requiring a high index of suspicion for diagnosis as the usual signs of structural heart disease are often absent. Ultrasound examination can strongly suggest the condition but can easily be misinterpreted. I nfants should be considered ''operable'' even when the resistance calc ulations predict otherwise as there appears to be a large component of immediately reversible pulmonary artery hypertension. With technical skills learned from arterial switch operations (for transposition of t he great arteries), surgical repositioning of the RPA should be possib le in nearly all cases without the use of a tube graft.