Shigeo Yamaki, Minoru Tsunemoto, Munehiro Shimada, Ryou Ishizawa, Masato Endo, Shingo Nakayama, Masaki Hata, Hitoshi Mohri
Tohoku University School of Medicine.
Japan
Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1992; 104: 728-735
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5223(19)34743-9
Abstract
A quantitative analysis of small pulmonary arteries, pulmonary veins, and lymphatic vessels was conducted in autopsy cases of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection. The materials were obtained from 60 cases of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection without asplenia or pulmonary stenosis, ages ranging from 2 days to 19 months at the time of death (mean age 2.2 months). Pulmonary arterial pressure had been measured in 32 of these patients before death. Twenty cases of ventricular septal defect with pulmonary hypertension and 15 normal individuals were used as the control group. The mean thickness of the media of small pulmonary arteries and veins was 12.7 and 7.6 microns, respectively, in the total anomalous pulmonary venous connection cases, both values being significantly larger than those for normal and ventricular septal defect cases. No changes in thickness with aging were found. Medial thickness in the arteries and veins was greater in the cases of pulmonary venous obstruction than in those without such obstruction. The medial thickness of small pulmonary arteries in total anomalous pulmonary venous connection cases correlated with increased pulmonary arterial pressure. When the patients with the same pulmonary arterial pressure levels were compared, the medial thickness was always greater in those who had total anomalous pulmonary venous connection than in those who had ventricular septal defect. The medial thickness of pulmonary veins was also highly correlated with increased pulmonary arterial pressure in total anomalous pulmonary venous connection. The severity of the intimal lesions was milder in those who had total anomalous pulmonary venous connection than in those who had ventricular septal defect, suggesting the protective role of the thickened pulmonary arterial media against development of intimal lesions. Intimal fibrous thickening of pulmonary veins was not seen in the cases of ventricular septal defect, but it was present in 45% of the total anomalous pulmonary venous connection cases. Lymphangiectasia was characteristically present in 62% of the total anomalous pulmonary venous connection cases. Interstitial emphysema was often a complication of lymphangiectasia, and it led to eight postoperative deaths.
Category
Stenosis or Obstruction of Pulmonary Veins Following Surgical Repair of Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connections
Pulmonary Hypertension Associated with Stenosis or Atresia of Pulmonary Veins
Pulmonary Venous Pathology
Year of Publication: 1992
Age Focus: Pediatric
Article Type: Retrospective Observational Cohort Studies (>10 patients)
Article Access: Free PDF File or Full Text Article Available Through PubMed or DOI: Yes (through the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery archive)