Heart. Published Online First: 8 November 2005. doi:10.1136/hrt.2005.069278
Original articles |
Can atrioventricular septal defects exist with intact septal structures?
1 Royal Brompton Hospital, United Kingdom
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: e.shinebourne{at}rbh.nthames.nhs.uk.
Accepted 12 August 2005
Abstract
The hallmark of an atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) is a common atrioventricular junction, giving rise to a tri-leaflet left atrioventricular valve. AVSDs have the potential for interatrial shunting alone, interventricular shunting alone, or both. Atrioventricular septal defects without interatrial or interventricular communications have been identified at post-mortem, but there are no reports of AVSDs with intact septal structures diagnosed in life. Here we describe six patients with AVSD and intact atrial and ventricular septa diagnosed echocardiographically. This report demonstrates that AVSDs can exist without interatrial or interventricular communications, and that the characteristic feature of this condition, the common atrioventricular junction with a tri-leaflet left atrioventricular valve, can be diagnosed in life using cross-sectional echocardiography. AVSDs with intact septal structures may be more common than previously described.
Keywords: congenital heart disease, atrioventricular septal defect, echocardiography, intact septal structures
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- Linear insertion of the AV valves without defect exists and was already described and published
- Catherine Fredouille, et al.
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