The right aortic arch revisited

Right aortic arch diagnosed antenatally: associations and outcome in 98 fetuses

“…In all reported series,6 7 9 the type of CHD most commonly associated with RAA are the conotruncal anomalies. The results from our fetal series concur with this, with conotruncal malformations accounting for 76% of cases of CHD with RAA.…”

Tracheoesophageal compression due to congenital vascular anomalies (vascular rings)

“…In constrast to the radiological literature, these authors found a lower association of a right arch with either truncus arteriosus (15%), tricuspid atresia (2.9%), or double-outlet right ventricle (15%). 37 An aberrant right subclavian artery-usually found as an isolated defect-has been reported in association with congenital heart defects in 4/9 (44%) subjects by Rivilla et al 17 An aberrant left pulmonary artery (pulmonary artery sling) is associated with CHD in more than 50% of patients, [38][39][40] and a persistent left superior vena cava, atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, and patent ductus arteriosus have been frequently reported. Recently, Backer et al, 14 Horvath et al, 19 and Pawade et al 41 found CHD in 1/9 (11%), 1/5 (20%), and 2/18 (22%) subjects respectively with pulmonary artery slings.…”

Coincidence of a right retroaortic circumflex coronary artery and a right-sided aortic arch with a retroesophageal course of the left subclavian artery (arteria lusoria)

“…From the viewpoint of reconstructive vascular surgery, such symptomatic anomalous coronary arteries branching from the pulmonary trunk/arteries have been noted (Backer et al, 1992). Concerning the anomalies of the aortic arch, right-sided aortic arches of the type-N anomaly, such as the present case, often seem to be asymptomatic (Koizumi et al, 1994), whereas type M right-sided aortas (type III-A after Stewart-Edwards) are reported to be accompanied at high frequency by various cardiac malformations, such as tetralogy of Fallot (Glew and Hartnell, 1991;Craatz et al, 2003). The right-sided type N aortas are always accompanied by a retroesophageal aortic diverticulum (Kommerell's diverticulum), which may cause dysphagia and dyspnea (Stö rk et al, 2001;Morel et al, 2002), although no clinical data was available in this case.…”

“…2b). Therefore, the right aortic arch was classified as ''type N'' after Adachi-Williams-Nakagawa, and ''type III-B1'' after Stewart-Edwards (Glew and Hartnell, 1991;Koizumi et al, 1994). The Kommerell's diverticulum (20.0 mm in height, 26.8 mm in depth, and 22.2-27.8 mm in diameter), as well as the proximal portion of the aberrant left subclavian artery seemed to press on the posterior wall of the upper part of the esophagus (25 mm superior to the tracheal bifurcation; arrows in Fig.…”