Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Drainage

The spontaneous functional closure of the interatrial communication in total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage (TAPVD) subsequent to surgical correction of the TAPVD in infants is reported. Three cases are documented with descriptions of clinical features, cardiac catheterization data, thermodilution curves, and angiography. This evidence suggests that it might be unnecessary in infants to close the interatrial communication at the time of correction of the TAPVD. It also suggests that balloon atrial septostomy may sometimes be unwise before the first-stage correction.