Rudhe syndrome: reversible right middle lobe emphysema in infants with left-to-right shunts--an historical review.

In 1971, the Swedish radiologist Ulf Rudhe wrote a provocative paper on right middle lobe emphysema in infants with left-to-right shunts in which he suggested cardiac surgery rather than lung resection. At the time, this was counter to accepted medical practice. Earlier diagnosis and better medical management of ventricular septal defect in infants has proved Rudhe correct. However, two current cases of large left-to-right shunts in infants with emphysema of the right middle lobe prompt this historical review of what seemed a closed-episode in pediatric cardiac surgery.