Aortic Aneurysm in Children and Adolescents

Bicuspidization of the morphological tricuspid aortic valve with ascending aorta replacement in a 5-year-old child

“…Very few cases of AAAs in patients less than 5 years of age are reported in the literature . Aortic size over 5 cm, aneurysm growth rate exceeding 1 cm per year, progressive AR, and familial history of early aortic dissection should be considered as an indication for surgery …”

Pictorial review of non-traumatic thoracic emergencies in the pediatric population

“…Causes can be non-genetic and genetic in origin. Non-genetic causes include bicuspid aortic valve, coarctation of the aorta, tetralogy of Fallot, and aortitis syndromes [25]. Some of the genetic causes of aortic aneurysms include Marfan syndrome and Ehler-Danlos syndrome.…”

“…Although not always emergent, these aneurysms have a potential to rupture. The aneurysms may occur in the ascending aorta, abdominal aorta, or aortic branches [25]. Ehler-Danlos syndrome is a disorder of collagen and extracellular matrix.…”

“…Ehler-Danlos syndrome is a disorder of collagen and extracellular matrix. Cardiovascular findings, including aortic aneurysms, are seen in the subtype IV, in which collagen type III alpha-1 gene mutation causes an abnormal type III collagen in the vascular wall, skin, and other organs [25]. Comprehensive evaluation with multimodality imaging, including ECHO, multi-slice spiral CT angiography, and magnetic resonance angiography, are recommended to evaluate patients with congenital aortic aneurysms.…”

Aortic Root Size by Echocardiogram Compared With Computed Tomography in Adolescents With Pectus Excavatum

“…3 Also, the incidence of aortic root dilatation specifically in Marfan syndrome can be as high as 80%. 4 Patients with mixed-type connective tissue disorders also have pectus excavatum. 5 It is common practice in our institution to obtain an echo before pectus excavatum repair.…”