An Alternative Surgical Approach to the Management of Symptomatic Aberrant Retroesophageal Right Subclavian Artery in Adults (Dysphagia Lusoria)

Abstract

The case of a forty-four-year-old woman with dysphagia lusoria is presented. The aberrant artery was dissected from the esophagus and divided at its aortic origin through a left anterolateral thoracotomy, and the vascular continuity was reestablished with a Dacron graft without translocation of the artery. The mechanisms involved in the produc tion of symptoms and the surgical techniques are reviewed and discussed. The author believes that the procedure advocated here is an alternative surgical approach to the management of dysphagia lusoria.