Coexistence of three rare congenital heart defects in a single patient: a unique case with important embryologic implications.

The unique anatomy, physiology, and surgical repair of a patient with features of three rare congenital heart defects (total anomalous pulmonary venous return to the coronary sinus, cor triatriatum, and unroofed coronary sinus with persistent left superior vena cava to the left atrium) is described. Analysis of this case suggests that these three conditions are linked in that they all may result as a consequence of a defect in the same embryologic process (i.e., incorporation of the pulmonary venous confluence into the left atrium).