Great Vessel and Coronary Artery Anatomy in Transposition and Other Coronary Anomalies : A Universal Descriptive and Alphanumerical Sequential Classification

In patients with transposition of the great arteries, the identification of coronary anatomy is fundamental to optimal surgical outcome. A number of classifications describing the coronary vessels' origin and course in transposition of the great arteries have been published. However, all are limited to operative or pathological case series. They are often alphanumeric classifications that do not lend themselves to clinical practice; they do not consider certain important anatomical variations that may increase surgical morbidity and mortality, nor do they fully delineate coronary anatomy or define the relationship to adjacent structures seen with cardiovascular computed tomography. Using cardiovascular computed tomography for illustrative purposes, we propose and validate a universal sequential descriptive classification and an associated alphanumeric classification that may be used for all coronary anomalies with or without associated congenital heart disease.