Partial anomalous pulmonary venous return: a ten-year experience.

In this report, 24 patients with partial anomalous pulmonary venous return were reviewed. Six of the eight patients with left-sided drainage were repaired without extracorporeal circulation by anastomosing the left-sided vein to the left atrium. Symptoms resolved in five of the six. Two of the eight were surgically repaired by using extracorporeal circulation, one of whom died in the operating room from complicated associated anomalies. Of the 16 patients with right-sided partial anomalous pulmonary venous return, all were repaired by using extracorporeal circulation and by placing a Dacron or pericardial patch to direct the venous drainage into the left atrium. Eight of these patients were restudied and had post-repair QP/QS of 1.0. Repair of partial anomalous pulmonary venous return can be accomplished with minimal morbidity and a low mortality-both of which are often related to associated anomalies.