A neonate with left pulmonary artery thrombosis and left lung hypoplasia: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Spontaneous intrauterine arterial thrombosis and congenital pulmonary hypoplasia are rare conditions and have not been reported to occur together. The literature rather includes two reports of babies with neonatal pulmonary artery occlusion and post-infarction cysts of the lungs. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a live Caucasian male newborn with left lung hypoplasia that occurred in association with left pulmonary artery thrombosis. Despite a critical neonatal course, including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, this infant is alive and well at 18 months of age without any neurodevelopmental sequelae or reactive airway disease. CONCLUSION: This association suggests the possibility of an intrauterine vascular event between the fifth and eighth weeks of gestation during early pulmonary artery and lung development.