Aortic arch uncrossing using a tracheal resection procedure

One category of vascular rings is the right aortic arch associated with the diverticulum of Kommerell from which the left subclavian artery usually originates. In some cases, the right aortic arch crosses behind the trachea and the esophagus from right to left. The trachea and esophagus are compressed by the right aortic arch, the left ligamentum, and the posterior crossing aorta, which causes the typical symptoms of noisy breathing, dyspnea on exertion, dysphagia, and frequent upper respiratory tract infections. Division of the atretic arch segment between the diverticulum of Kommerell and the left common carotid artery may relieve the symptoms temporarily but does not relieve the compression produced by this vascular abnormality. Indeed, at the age of 10 months, this patient underwent anterior arch division and posterior aortopexy via a posterolateral thoracotomy in order to relieve the compression caused by the vascular ring. Several months after the initial operation, the patient had recurrent respiratory symptoms as a result of residual vascular compression from the circumflex arch. A CT scan and airway endoscopy confirmed tracheal compression; in addition, the tracheoscopy showed tracheomalacic changes in the compressed segment of the trachea. To relieve the symptoms and the compression, we decided to resect the tracheomalacic segment of the trachea and translocate the aortic arch anterior to the trachea and esophagus.

Diverticulum of Kommerell with Micro Aneurysm, an Aberrant Right Subclavian Artery and Ventricular Septal Defect in a 39 Years Old Female: Case Report

Diverticulum of Kommerell is a congenital anomaly in the development of the primitive embryonic aortic vasculature resulting in either an aberrant left subclavian artery (ALSA) from a right-sided aortic arch (RSAA) or an aberrant right subclavian artery (ARSA) from a left-sided aortic arch (LSAA). Kommerell’s diverticulum (KD), is extremely rare in the general population having prevalence of 0.7–2.0 %. KD with true aneurysmal dilatation like any vascular lesion of the thoracic aorta weakens the vasculature and increases the risk of aortic rupture. Timely surgical intervention is of paramount importance in most of these cases. Variable clinical presentations in patients with KD are either a result of compression of some mediastinal organs or strangulation by the vascular ring from the aberrant subclavian artery (ASA). We report a case of a 39 years old Chinese female with a rare co-existence of a huge KD with a microaneurysm, an aberrant right subclavian artery (ARSA), and ventricular septal defect (VSD). She underwent a successful operation and all her pre-surgical symptoms disappeared.

Right aortic arch and Kommerell's diverticulum associated with acute aortic dissection and pericardial tamponade

The right-sided aorta associated with an aberrant left subclavian artery is a rare anomaly of the aortic branches in the upper mediastinum. We present a 62-year-old patient suffering from an acute dissection of the ascending aorta associated with hemopericardium. In this case, there was also aneurysmal dilatation of the origin of the left subclavian artery, known as diverticulum of Kommerell.