Pulsed Doppler echocardiographic assessment of the pulmonary venous pathway after the Mustard or Senning procedure for transposition of the great arteries.

Pulsed Doppler evaluation of pulmonary venous flow was performed in three groups of patients who had undergone either a Mustard or Senning procedure. Group I consisted of 43 patients in sinus rhythm who had undergone the Mustard procedure 9 months or more before the Doppler examination and 16 who were evaluated immediately after surgery. Group II consisted of 12 patients in sinus rhythm who had undergone the Senning procedure 9 months or more before the Doppler evaluation. Group III consisted of eight patients with mid baffle obstruction of the pulmonary venous atrium and seven with isolated stenosis of the pulmonary vein of which all but one had previously had associated mid baffle obstruction. In those without obstruction, the pulmonary venous flow pattern mirrored the left atrial pressure trace, with peak forward flow occurring during the x and y descent. Obstruction produced a specific high-velocity turbulent pattern, whether at the mid baffle or pulmonary venous level. This technique provides reliable noninvasive information about pulmonary venous flow after the Mustard or Senning procedure.