Left hemitruncus: a rare congenital heart condition

Hemitruncus is the anomalous origin of one of the branch pulmonary arteries from the aorta and the other arises normally from the right ventricles in the presence of 2 normal semilunar valves. It is a rare congenital lesion with a high mortality and morbidity if not diagnosed and treated surgically early in life. Usually it is an isolated anomaly, but it can be associated with other lesions as tetralogy of Fallot, aortopulmonary window, coarctation and interrupted aortic arch. Only a few cases have been reported in the literature, most of them reporting right hemitruncus. Here we present the first case to be reported in our institute in the last 30 years. The patient was a 2-month-old baby who presented with a picture of pulmonary hypertension and was diagnosed as left hemitruncus; we discuss his presentation and diag-nostic procedures.