The Surgical Management of Vascular Ring Formed by Right Aortic Arch with Aberrant Left Subclavian Artery and Left Ligamentum Arteriosum—A Case Presentation

Abstract

Reports on the surgical management of the vascular ring formed by the right aortic arch with aberrant retroesophageal left subclavian artery and ligamen tum arteriosum are relatively few. The authors present a case of a forty-four- year-old woman who had dysphagia lusoria caused by this abnormality. Surgical management, which was performed through a left posterolateral thoracotomy, included division of the ligamentum arteriosum and of the aber rant left subclavian artery, reanastomosis to the left common carotid artery, and resection of the Kommerell's diverticulum.

Complete surgical management should include all of these procedures when the Kommerell's diverticulum causes an additional compression to the esopha gus. Only 2 such cases have been reported so far, including the presented case. The authors' experiences have proved that the posterolateral left thoracotomy provides a sufficient view for performing the complete surgical management of this abnormality.