The content of these European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Guidelines has been published for personal and educational use only. No commercial use is authorized. No part of the ESC Guidelines may be translated or reproduced in any form without written permission from the ESC. Permission can be obtained upon submission of a written request to Oxford University Press, the publisher of the European Heart Journal and the party authorized to handle such permissions on behalf of the ESC. Disclaimer. The ESC Guidelines represent the views of the ESC and were arrived at after careful consideration of the available evidence at the time they were written. Health professionals are encouraged to take them fully into account when exercising their clinical judgement. The guidelines do not, however, override the individual responsibility of health professionals to make appropriate decisions in the circumstances of the individual patients, in consultation with that patient, and where appropriate and necessary the patient's guardian or carer. It is also the health professional's responsibility to verify the rules and regulations applicable to drugs and devices at the time of prescription.

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Of 12 patients with angiographically absent pulmonary artery, 11 were investigated surgically. The previously occult pulmonary artery was found in 10 patients, in five of whom a vestige of an intrapericardial artery was present and in five the artery was patent only at the hilus, a gap existing between the main pulmonary artery and the hilar vessel, and no artery was found in one. All patients with an intrapericardial artery had right ventricular outflow tract obstruction and a ductus descending vertically from underneath the aortic arch. In those without an intrapericardial vessel the occult artery was on the side opposite the aortic arch, and there was evidence of a ductus coming from the innominate artery on the side of the interruption. The occult pulmonary artery, where identified at operation, was usually joined initially to the systemic circulation. Ultimately, continuity between the hilar and main pulmonary artery may be established surgically. Where no intrapericardial vessel exists, however, a conduit may be required to bridge the gap. It seems advisable to search for the occult artery as early in life as is feasible in the hope that providing a blood supply will ensure development of the vessel and normal lung growth.

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