CONCEALED LEFT ATRIAL MEMBRANE: A PITFALL IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF COR TRIATRIATUM

Cor triatriatum is an unusual congenital anomaly that is probably not as rare as previous reports have indicated. Herein we describe a case of left atrium membrane with multiple large atrial septal defects mimicking cor triatriatum in the absence of pulmonary venous obstruction. We hypothesized that left atrium membrane, when associated with other cardiac lesions, masked pulmonary venous obstruction and that failure to recognize this structure might result in pulmonary venous obstruction at the time of surgical repair of the primary defect and consequently poor surgical outcome (Iranian Heart Journal 2008; 9 (1):61 -63).