[Contribution of color echocardiography to the diagnosis of post-traumatic left ventricular-right atrial septal defect].

The authors report the case of an acquired left ventricle--right atrial communication after closed chest trauma. This communication was associated with rupture of the aortic isthmus and complete atrioventricular block. The left-to-right shunt which was assumed for a long time to be a small, well-tolerated, ventricular septal defect, finally required surgical repair. The diagnosis was eventually made clear by Doppler color flow mapping which was of great value in orienting the surgical procedure.