EXERCISE HYPOXEMIA AND CONGENITAL HYPOPLA SIA OF THE LEFT PULMONARY-ARTERY

The reported case concerns a 12-year-old boy with a congenital hypopla sia of the left pulmonary artery without associated cardiac malformati on. At rest, pulmonary function tests were within the normal range, wh ile the patient demonstrated an abnormal dyspnea and hypoxemia during exercise. These symptoms disappeared after left pneumonectomy. Unilate ral pulmonary artery hypoplasia can be responsible for exercise hypoxe mia due to an intermittent right-to-left shunt or a ventilation-to-per fusion mismatching.