Cardiac CT Planning of Surgical Treatment of Multiple Coronary-Pulmonary Fistulas With Chronic Coronary Occlusion.
ANATOMY: Coronary fistulas are rare congenital anomalies that may lead to myocardial ischemia through a coronary steal phenomenon, particularly when associated with coronary artery disease. PATHOLOGY: We describe a case of cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) diagnosis of multiple coronary-pulmonary artery fistulas associated with chronic occlusion of the right coronary artery, in a 66-year-old man presenting with unstable angina. IMAGING CORRELATION: CCTA and echocardiography were used for evaluation of procedural planning in an acute setting. TREATMENT: The fistulas were effectively treated with surgical exclusion combined with coronary artery bypass grafting, yielding an optimal result on the postoperative computed tomography scan. TAKE-HOME MESSAGES: Coronary fistulas are rare but important causes of myocardial ischemia. This case highlights the importance of CCTA definition of anatomical complexity and multidisciplinary decision-making in the management of complex coronary fistulas. Surgical repair remains the preferred approach in complex anatomy cases or associated coronary artery disease requiring revascularization.
Authors
- Alessandro Zanello
- Giuseppe Spira
- Elona Collaku (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4399-6023)
- Rocco Mollace (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7106-5595)
- Laura Giroletti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4067-2781)
- Alfonso Agnino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4863-569X)
- Flavia Nicoli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0160-1847)
- Erika Bertella (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3768-232X)
- Giorgio Agati
- Paolo Giulio Giovanni Panisi
Institutions
- University of Bergamo (IT)
- Humanitas Gavazzeni (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- PubMed
- Published
- 2026-10-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccas.2026.110768
- Primary Topic
- Coronary Artery Anomalies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00