Parent Information

Truncus Arteriosus

There are two main pipes which leave the heart. The Pulmonary artery takes blood to the lungs and the Aorta which takes blood to the head and the body. Some babies are born with one large common pipe called a common trunk or Truncus Arteriosus. This pipe then divides to give branches to the lungs, head and body. The problem here is that the deoxygenated 'blue' blood is mixing in the same pipe as the oxygenated 'red' blood. In addition to this sometimes too much blood goes to the body or too much goes to the lungs. There will also be a hole in the heart between the two pumping chambers called a Ventricular Septal Defect or VSD. Surgery will be necessary for your baby at a very young age.