Spontaneous closure of congenital coronary artery fistulas
- aService des Maladies Cardiovasculaires Infantiles et Congénitales, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Lille, France, bDepartment of Pediatric Cardiology, University of Leuven, Belgium, cService de Cardiologie C, Hôpital Cardiologique, Lyon, France
- Dr Jean-Marc Schleich, Département de Cardiologie et de Maladies Vasculaires, Centre Cardio-Pneumologique, Centre Hospitalier et Universitaire, 35033 Rennes Cedex, Francejean-marc.schleich{at}chu-rennes.fr
- Accepted 13 December 2000
Abstract
Six cases of full spontaneous closure of congenital coronary artery fistulas, and one case of near closure, as seen by colour Doppler echocardiography, are presented. It is worth reconsidering the classical view that nearly all cases of spontaneous closure are eligible for surgical or percutaneous correction to prevent the development of significant and potentially fatal complications. As the natural course of coronary artery fistulas is still poorly defined, asymptomatic patients, especially those under 7 years old with small shunts, should be periodically followed up by echocardiography rather than be subjected to operative closure, even by catheterisation.
