Anatomical variations of the aortic arch branching pattern using CT angiography: a proposal for a different morphological classification with clinical relevance

Açar, Gülay; Çiçekcibaşı, Aynur Emine; Uysal, Emine; Koplay, Mustafa

doi:10.1007/s12565-021-00627-6

Cited by 7 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The aorta is the main artery of the body and after originating from the heart, it continues as the ascending aorta, aortic arch and descending aorta (thoracic and abdominal) [1][2][3]. The arteries branching off from the aortic arch (AA) supply blood to the head and neck and upper extremities [1,2,4]. The usual branching pattern of AA, from right to left, is the brachiocephalic trunk (later divided into the right subclavian artery (RSA) and right common carotid artery (RCCA)), left common carotid artery (LCCA) and left subclavian artery (LSA) [2,3,[5][6][7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The arteries branching off from the aortic arch (AA) supply blood to the head and neck and upper extremities [1,2,4]. The usual branching pattern of AA, from right to left, is the brachiocephalic trunk (later divided into the right subclavian artery (RSA) and right common carotid artery (RCCA)), left common carotid artery (LCCA) and left subclavian artery (LSA) [2,3,[5][6][7]. This type of classic branching is seen in 49.7-94.3% of the population [2,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The usual branching pattern of AA, from right to left, is the brachiocephalic trunk (later divided into the right subclavian artery (RSA) and right common carotid artery (RCCA)), left common carotid artery (LCCA) and left subclavian artery (LSA) [2,3,[5][6][7]. This type of classic branching is seen in 49.7-94.3% of the population [2,7]. However, some variations may occur in the branching pattern of AA during embryologic development [3,4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These variations are usually asymptomatic and are discovered incidentally during radiological imaging, autopsy, and dissection [2,7]. On the other hand, anatomical variations in the branching pattern of the aortic arch may result in symptoms such as dysphagia and dyspnea as well as various clinical problems [5,[7][8][9][10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Anatomical Variations in Aortic Arch Branching Pattern: A Computed Tomography Angiography Study

Tasdemir¹,

Cihan²,

Ince³

et al. 2023

Cureus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: Variations in the branching pattern of the aortic arch (AA) are common. Modification of intravascular stents should be considered taking into account these AA branching variations. Identification of supra-aortic branching types and frequencies is important for specialists planning surgery in this region. In endovascular interventions to the AA, aortic stent grafts should be modified according to the variations of the branching patterns of the AA. In any surgical intervention to the region where the supraaortic branches are located, ignorance of the variations may cause unwanted injuries or complications.Methods: In this study, 699 computed tomography angiography (CTA) images were reviewed to investigate AA branching variations using the Horos software (an open-source image viewer). Four groups were constructed based on the number of branches emerging from the aortic arch, which were further divided into subtypes.Results: A total of 699 CTA images from 320 males and 379 females were included in this study. The usual AA branching pattern (type 3b1) was found in 68.5% of the patients. The combined prevalence of other eight branching patterns, designated as variations, was 31.5%. Variation types 1b1, 3b2, and 4b5 were identified in one patient each. Overall, types 2b1 and 2b2 had a prevalence of 28.3%. The type 2b3 variation was observed in 1.6% of the patients. The least common variations were type 4b1 (0.7%) and type 3b2 (0.1%). Conclusion:The identification of variations in AA branching patterns by CTA prior to surgical or endovascular interventions involving the aortic arch is important. Thus, specialists planning interventions in this region need to be aware and have knowledge of atypical aortic branching patterns. Higher prevalence rates of AA branching patterns compared to previous studies were identified in the Turkish population in this study and therefore, a comprehensive, multicenter study is needed to determine the cause of this differential finding.

show abstract