Discussion
Diagnosis With Brief Discussion
- Diagnosis
- Unilateral pulmonary vein atresia
- Radiologic Findings
- Figs 1. Chest PA shows a small left hemithorax, with reticular opacities in left lung.
Fig 2-6. Mediastinal setting of axial CT images show absent left pulmonary vein with ipsilateral pulmonary artery hypoplasia. .
Fig 7. Mediastinal setting of coronal reformatted CT image shows absent left pulmonary vein and increased attenuation of mediastinal fat adjacent to venous atresia.
Figs 8. Lung setting of coronal reformatted CT shows a hypoplastic left lung with interlobular septal thickening.
3D-volume rendering image shows absent left pulmonary vein with ipsilateral pulmonary artery hypoplasia
- Brief Review
- Unilateral pulmonary vein atresia is a rare congenital abnormality. It results from failure of incorporation of the common pulmonary vein into the left atrium during the embryological development. It may occur in either lung, with no right- or left-sided predominance, and it usually presents in infants. The most frequent presenting complaints in infancy include recurrent infections in the hypoplastic lung and hemoptysis due to the systemic collateral supply to the affected lung. Other associated congenital heart defects are found in approximately 50% of patients.
Chest radiographs show small hemithorax, ipsilateral mediastinal shift, and reticular opacities. The CT scan shows characteristic findings of a hypoplastic lung, smooth margins of left atrium without evidence of rudimentary pulmonary veins, and smooth thickening of interlobular septa likely due to the dilation of pulmonary lymphatics and bronchial veins. There is associated small ipsilateral pulmonary artery, attributed to preferential perfusion to contralateral side and confluent low attenuation soft tissue in the mediastinum adjacent to the left atrium that contains pulmonary to systemic collaterals. Treatment of unilateral congenital pulmonary venous atresia may be conservative in relatively asymptomatic patients, and pneumonectomy is done in patients with progressive dyspnea, significant pneumonia, or recurrent pneumonia.
- References
- 1. Narayanan R. et al. Isolated unilateral pulmonary vein atresia. Lung India 2016 Sep-Oct;33(5):571-572
2. Laura E. et al. Congenital unilateral pulmonary vein atresia radiologic findings in three adult patients. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2001 Sep;177(3):681-685
- Keywords
- pulmonary vein, ipsilateral pulmonary venous atresia,