Treatment of symptomatic vascular rings in the elderly.
A 76-year-old woman presented with respiratory failure that was later determined to be a result of a right aortic arch with an aberrant left brachiocephalic artery. This vascular ring compressed the trachea, requiring operative intervention. A median sternotomy gave access for an aorta-to-left brachiocephalic artery bypass and division of the vascular ring. This is a unique case, because vascular rings rarely present in elderly patients with such acute life-threatening symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the oldest and heaviest patient ever reported with symptomatic presentation and one of only 4 patients over the age of 50. The current literature on vascular rings of the thoracic aorta in adults is reviewed.
Hardin
Rosemarie E
RE
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, State University of New York-Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York 11203, USA.
Brevetti
Gregory R
GR
Sanusi
Michael
M
Bhaskaran
Dinesh
D
Burack
Joshua H
JH
Genovesi
Mark H
MH
Lowery
Robert C
RC
Rafii
Shahrokh
S
Bondi
Elliot
E
D000368:Aged; D000792:Angiography; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D016122:Brachiocephalic Trunk / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014132:Trachea / Q000473:pathology; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*