Congenital Aortico-Left Ventricular Tunnel: A Case Report of a Rare Cause of Aortic Regurgitation in Adults

Abstract

The aortico-left ventricular tunnel is a rare congenital abnormality resulting in a pathologic connection between the aorta and the left ventricle. It often presents during infancy or early childhood as a cardiac failure symptom or an incidental finding of a cardiac murmur due to severe aortic regurgitation. It is, however, also occasionally found in asymptomatic adults. We describe a 20-year-old female presenting with palpitations in whom clinical evaluations with echocardiography and computed tomography angiography led to the diagnosis of severe aortic regurgitation caused by a tunnel connecting the right sinus of the aorta to the left ventricle. The patient underwent successful obstruction of the tunnel with an autologous pericardial patch and the repair of the dilated aortic root via the reduction aortoplasty technique. She was discharged on the 5th postoperative day with no complications. At 1 month’s follow-up, she remained asymptomatic and echocardiography showed aortic valve competence with no residual regurgitation.