Open Access

LETTER

Aorta–Right Atrial Tunnel in an Infant

Xu Liu, Yanjun Sun, Xiafeng Yu, Yiwei Liu, Hao Zhang^*

Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China

* Corresponding Author: Hao Zhang. Email:

Congenital Heart Disease 2025, 20(1), 103-113. https://doi.org/10.32604/chd.2025.063108

Received 05 January 2025; Accepted 21 February 2025; Issue published 18 March 2025

Abstract

Aorta–right atrial tunnel (ARAT) is an extremely rare congenital heart malformation with an average age of diagnosis of approximately 20 years. Its clinical symptoms are varied and often atypical. ARAT usually originates from the left or right sinus of Valsalva. In this letter, we aim to share a rare case of ARAT originating from the noncoronary sinus in an infant. The patient presented with a cardiac murmur, a dilated right heart, and a tortuous tunnel originating from the dilated noncoronary sinus and terminating at the right atrium in echocardiogram and computed tomography angiography. The patient underwent surgical closure of the tunnel to prevent possible heart failure. Postoperative echocardiography revealed complete closure of the tunnel with no residual flow. No evidence of aortic valve regurgitation or aortic root dilation was detected during 6-month follow-up.

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Supplementary Material

Supplementary Material File

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