Right-sided aortic arch

Case contributed by Michael Courtney
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Thoracic aortic aneurysm; surveillance imaging.

Patient Data

Age: 55 years
Gender: Male
ct

Right-sided thoracic aorta with individual ostia for the major branch vessels. There is an aberrant left subclavian artery, arising from the distal arch, which passes posterior to the esophagus, and a diverticulum of Kommerell. The left vertebral artery is diminutive.

Case Discussion

The images detail a right-sided aortic arch, which is a rare but normal anatomical variant, with an incidence as low as ~0.1% of the population. The subtype shown is the right-sided arch associated with an aberrant left subclavian artery. The patient was asymptomatic with regards this anatomical variant, though dysphagia (similar to that seen in dysphagia lusoria in aberrant right subclavian) has been reported in rare cases 1.

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