Successful surgical repair of aortico-left ventricular tunnel in an infant.

Aortico-left ventricular tunnel is a rare congenital malformation in which a perivalvular tunnel produces free communication between the aortic root and left ventricle. The hemodynamic consequences of this lesion are similar to those of aortic valve incompetence. Infants with this condition have clinical findings that should suggest it as a diagnostic possibility, and aortic root angiocardiography can establish the diagnosis. Early severe congestive heart failure is common in infants with this malformation, and in such patients prompt surgical correction of the deformity is recommended. This paper reports surgical correction of aortico-left ventricular tunnel in a 9-month-old child, the first reported patient to be successfully operated on before age 2 years.