Figure 1: CT image shows the thoracic aorta and supra-aortic trunks seen from anterior (a) and left (b) point of view. The CT measurements are 16 mm for the ascending aorta and 5 mm for the aortic arch and descending thoracic aorta. AA: ascending aorta; AoA: aortic arch; IA: innominate artery; LSA: left subclavian artery; LVA: left vertebral artery; RSA: right subclavian artery. Figure 2: MRI s...

A right aortic arch is an anatomic variant only occurring in approximately 0.1% of the population. A mirror-image right artic arch without congenital cardiac anomaly is fairly uncommon. We report on a rare case of dysphagia due to isolated aortic diverticulum in a mirror-image right aortic arch. A 72-year-old man presented with dysphagia which was due to posterior compression of the esophagus b...

OBJECTIVES To assess early and long-term outcomes in a large cohort of patients undergoing open aortic arch surgery. METHODS From 1996 to 2012, 623 consecutive patients (mean age: 62.8 years) underwent aortic arch interventions in our institution. Of these, 208 (33.4%) presented with an acute aortic syndrome (AAS) and 415 (66.6%) with a chronic aortic pathology (CAP). During the study period,...

BACKGROUND In total arch repair with open placement of a triple-branched stent graft for acute type A aortic dissection, the diameters of the native arch vessels and the distances between 2 neighboring arch vessels did not always match the available sizes of the triple-branched stent grafts, and insertion of the triple-branched stent graft through the distal ascending aortic incision was not ea...

Ruptured aortic arch aneurysm is a life threatening disease. Surgical repair has an high perioperative mortality rate and totally endovascular treatment is a challenge. Hybrid repair has been proposed as a valuable approach. We report the case of a patient with a contained rupture of aortic arch aneurysm. We treated him with a debranching of supraortic vessels with carotid-carotid and carotid-s...

PURPOSE To quantify aortic arch geometry and in vivo cardiac-induced and respiratory-induced arch translations and arch branch angulations using three-dimensional geometric modeling techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS Scanning with electrocardiogram-gated computed tomography angiography during inspiratory and expiratory breath holds was performed in 15 patients (age, 64 y ± 14) with thoracic ao...

The mobile thrombus in the aortic arch is a rare condition, which becomes rarer when associated with cerebral infarction, resulting in disabling complications. Transesophageal echocardiography is useful for detecting the source of thrombi in the heart and aortic arch. Here, we report a case of a patient who suffered from recurrent cerebral infarction four times during the previous 18 months due...

Right sided aortic arch is an uncommon congenital anomaly. It can be classified into three types, depending on the left aortic arch's degenerating pattern and the branching pattern of the great vessels. It can be associated with major congenital heart disease, depending on the type of right sided aortic arch. We report a case of an 18-years-old female who has right sided aortic arch with atrial...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography for the diagnosis of congenital obstructive aortic arch anomalies in children and compare it with transthoracic echocardiography and other MR imaging techniques (ECG gated T1-weighted spin-echo imaging and gradient-echo cine imaging). MATERIALS AND METHODS Contrast-enhanced mag...

There are various methods for approaching the aortic arch, such as median sternotomy or lateral thoracotomy. However, accessing the site of distal anastomosis is problematic when the distal arch is extensively involved. We report a case of extended aortic arch replacement and coronary artery bypass through the L-incision approach.