Detection of partial anomalous right pulmonary venous return with an intact atrial septum by transesophageal echocardiography.

Partial anomalous pulmonary venous drainage with intact atrial septum is a rare congenital anomaly. We report a case of a 63-year-old woman who recently had dyspnea on minimal exertion and was found to have pulmonary hypertension, right atrial enlargement, and right ventricular enlargement by two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography. Transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated anomalous venous drainage of the right lung into the superior vena cava with an intact interatrial septum. This diagnosis was confirmed by angiography and the patient underwent successful repair. This case illustrates the importance of locating all four pulmonary veins in patients with pulmonary hypertension or suspected intracardiac shunt in addition to scanning the atrial septum.