Hydrops fetalis caused by a complex congenital heart defect with concurrent hypoplasia of pulmonary blood vessels and lungs visualized by micro-CT in a French Bulldog.

Background: Hydrops fetalis (HF) is fluid accumulation in fetus body cavities and subcutaneous tissue. The condition has been described in various farm and companion animal species, including dogs. Most of cases result from a heart defect.

Morphometry of the heart orifices and morphometry and topography of the coronary ostia in the goat.

Background: The coronary vessels have been described in various species of domestic and wild ruminants. However, no studies on the detailed morphology and morphometry of heart orifices and coronary ostia in the Polish goat are available.

Materials And Methods: The study was carried out on 112 female, adult dairy goats belonging to Polish Fawn Improved and Polish White Improved breed, closely related to French Alpine and Saanen, respectively.

Integrated Basic Heart and Lung Ultrasound Examination for the Differentiation between Bacterial Pneumonia and Lung Neoplasm in Dogs-A New Diagnostic Algorithm.

The diagnostics of two of the most prevalent lung diseases in dogs, bacterial pneumonia (BP) and lung neoplasm (LN), are challenging as their clinical signs are identical and may also occur in extrapulmonary diseases. This study aims to identify ultrasonographic criteria and develop a lung ultrasound (LUS)-based diagnostic algorithm which could help distinguish between these two conditions. The study is carried out in 66 dyspneic dogs in which a heart disease was excluded using echocardiography.

Coronary steal phenomenon following right ventricle decompression and revascularization of atretic left coronary ostium: case report.

Background: Coronary steal phenomenon and myocardial ischemia is a complication following decompression of a hypertensive right ventricle in patients with left coronary-cameral fistulae.

Case Presentation: We present a 12-year-old girl with a complex heart defect successfully operated on using a hybrid surgical-interventional approach to decompress the ventricle, embolize the fistula and reconstruct the atretic left coronary ostium.

Conclusions: A novel hybrid strategy is the best solution for coronary-cameral fistulas reliant on high ventricular pressure at high risk for coronary steal phenomenon.

Catheter-Guided Dissolution of a Giant Thrombus in the Left Ventricle in a Newborn.

A newborn with pulmonary hypertension due to the premature fetal arterial duct occlusion was diagnosed with a giant left ventricle thrombus. Cardiopulmonary compromise required multidrug therapy with vasopressors infusions, high-frequency oscillation, and nitric oxide. Alteplase infusion through a guiding catheter into the left atrium dissoluted the clot without sequelae.

Late diagnosis of total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage in a 5.5-month-old infant.

A 5.5-month-old girl was admitted with non-specific signs and symptoms like dyspnea at rest, tachypnea, fatigue, low body weight and cyanosis on exertion. Physical examination revealed a barrel-shaped chest; no pathological sounds over the heart or both lung areas were detected.

Anomalous retroaortic paravertebral course of the left innominate vein in a child with atrial septal defect.

We report the case of a 2.5-year-old boy with atrial septal defect in whom anomalous position of the left innominate vein was detected on preoperative ultrasound examination. Before joining the right brachiocephalic vein, the vessel extended from the left to the right and downward beyond the descending aorta.

Isolation of the left subclavian artery in an infant with tetralogy of Fallot, right aortic arch and DiGeorge syndrome. Echocardiographic diagnostic case study.

We present a case of a 6-month-old infant with an isolated left subclavian artery coexistent with right-sided aortic arch, tetralogy of Fallot and DiGeorge syndrome, with an emphasis on echocardiographic detection of this extremely rare anomaly. Specific difficulties related to echocardiographic visualization of abnormally coursing artery were a result of significantly limited ultrasonographic access due to the absence of thymus and a very close proximity of the left subclavian artery and left common carotid artery, mimicking a normal brachiocephalic trunk, which is usually present in patients with right-sided aortic arch. Precise analysis of the course of carotid and vertebral arteries as well as the nature and direction of flow in these vessels (particularly in the left vertebral and subclavian artery) suggested ductal rather than aortic origin of the left subclavian artery.

Methodology of echocardiographic analysis of morphological variations of the aortic arch and its branches in children - own experience.

We wish to share our experience in echocardiographic assessment of the course of the aortic arch, illustrating it with multiple examples of the majority of possible variants. The course of the aortic arch and its branches may be visualized using high parasternal and suprasternal views in sagittal and transverse planes. It is hardly ever possible to visualize the entire aortic arch on a single ultrasonographic section, particularly in the case of pathological variations.

Critical appraisal of MAPSE and TAPSE usefulness in the postoperative assessment of ventricular contractile function after congenital heart defect surgery in infants.

In this study, we assessed the adequacy of the two echocardiographic parameters representing the longitudinal systolic function of the ventricles, MAPSE & TAPSE, in perioperative monitoring. 1. The assessment of MAPSE and TAPSE during the early (4 weeks) postoperative period after surgical correction of congenital heart defects in infants, performed with CPB.

Non-invasive diagnosis of aortic arch anomalies in children - 15 years of own experience.

: To summarize our experience in echocardiographic diagnosis of aortic arch anomalies in pediatric patients. : A retrospective assessment of echocardiographic findings in Echo-Lab patients of the Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Department, who were diagnosed with an anomalous aortic arch between 2003 and 2018. : The diagnosis of an abnormal course of the aortic arch and/or its branches was established in 115 children aged between 4 days and 17 years.

Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the main pulmonary artery treated surgically in a 6-week-old infant. A case report and review of the literature.

Background: In the present paper, the authors describe a case of a rare congenital defect - anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the main pulmonary artery diagnosed in a 5-week-old infant who was deemed eligible for surgical treatment based solely on echocardiography. Such anatomical abnormalities of the coronary arteries are subtle and thus extremely difficult to visualize, especially in patients in whom permanent extensive damage of the cardiac muscle has not yet occurred. For this reason, the diagnosis is usually established when the disease is highly advanced, oftentimes only postmortem.

Double-chambered right ventricle in a 16-year-old patient with Williams syndrome.

We present a case of double-chambered right ventricle diagnosed during preparation for colonoscopy due to gastrointestinal bleeding in a 16-year-old, mentally disabled boy with Williams syndrome. The patient was previously diagnosed with ventricular septal defect and mild pulmonary stenosis. Echocardiography performed under general anesthesia revealed hypertrophied muscular bundles in the right ventricle with the maximum gradient of 100 mmHg, causing severe outflow obstruction.

Supravalvar mitral ring with a parachute mitral valve and subcoarctation of the aorta in a child with hemodynamically significant VSD. A study of the morphology, echocardiographic diagnostics and surgical therapy.

The authors present a case of echocardiographic diagnosis of supravalvar mitral ring (a fibromembranous structure that arose from the atrial surface of the mitral leaflets) in a child with a parachute mitral valve, a ventricular septal defect, and mild narrowing of the aortic isthmus. The supravalvar mitral stenosis is a typical but very infrequently detected element of the complex of anatomical abnormalities located within the left heart and the proximal aorta, called the Shone's complex (syndrome). Diagnosing an additional, hemodynamically significant anatomic defect during echocardiography was possible thanks to the detection of marked mobility limitation of the ring-adjacent part of the mitral valve mural leaflet as well as of an atypical image of turbulence occurring during the inflow from the left atrium to the left ventricle.

Physiological basis in the assessment of myocardial mechanics using speckle-tracking echocardiography 2D. Part II.

In this paper, the authors attempt to concisely present the anatomical and pathophysiological bases as well as the principles for echocardiographic evaluation of mechanical aspects of cardiac function based on speckle tracking method. This technique uses a phenomenon involving the formation of characteristic image units, referred to as speckles or acoustic markers, which are stable during cardiac cycle, on a two-dimensional echocardiographic picture. Changes in the position of these speckles throughout the cardiac cycle, which are monitored and analyzed semi-automatically by a computer system, reflect deformation of both, cardiac ventricle as a whole as well as its individual anatomical segments.

Physiological basis in the assessment of myocardial mechanics using speckle-tracking echocardiography 2D. Part I.

In this paper, the authors attempt to concisely present the anatomical and pathophysiological bases as well as the principles for echocardiographic evaluation of mechanical aspects of cardiac function based on speckle tracking method. This technique uses a phenomenon involving the formation of characteristic image units, referred to as speckles or acoustic markers, which are stable during cardiac cycle, on a two-dimensional echocardiographic picture. Changes in the position of these speckles throughout the cardiac cycle, which are monitored and analyzed semi-automatically by a computer system, reflect deformation of both, cardiac ventricle as a whole as well as its individual anatomical segments.

Anomalous connection of the left hepatic vein to coronary sinus in a child with PAPVD. Surgical significance and diagnostic difficulties.

Left hepatic vein (LHV) that drains blood into a coronary sinus (CS) is an extremely rare congenital anomaly of systemic vein drainage with only single reports published. In most of these cases the unusual venous connection was found incidentally during diagnostics or surgery. The case of a two-year-old boy in whom the anomaly was discovered during open heart surgery for partial anomalous pulmonary venous drainage (PAPVD) is presented.