[Antegrade flow in the aorta ascendens despite aortic atresia: 2 case reports with retrograde coronary perfusion through coronary fistulas and sinusoids].

In aortic atresia, coronary perfusion normally occurs through retrograde blood flow in the ascending aorta. We report on two patients with antegrade flow in the ascending aorta despite aortic atresia. In one patient with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (aortic atresia, severe mitral stenosis), an intact interatrial septum/premature closure of the foramen ovale was found. While no other way of left atrial or ventricular decompression was found, echocardiography, angiography and the post-mortem examination showed left ventricular to coronary sinusoids as the sole pathway for systemic oxygenation. In a second patient with complex congenital heart disease, including aortic atresia, antegrade flow in the ascending aorta was through a left coronary fistula with shunt flow originating from the pulmonary trunk. This report describes systemic perfusion depending on retrograde coronary flow due to coronary-cameral (sinusoids) and coronary arterio-venous fistulas leading to the phenomenon of antegrade blood flow in the ascending aorta despite aortic atresia.