Surgical Management of "Vascular Rings"

Abstract

During the past 25 years, 68 infants and children underwent operation for the relief of tracheobronchoesophageal obstruction secondary to anomalies of major vessels in the mediastinum. There were 33 patients with double aortic arch, 26 with right aortic arch with a left ductus or ligamentum, six with aberrant right subclavian artery, one with a displaced innominate artery, and two with an anomalous left pulmonary artery. Esophagography was the most valuable preoperative diagnostic tool. The result of surgical treatment was gratifying in the majority of cases. There were nine operative and two late deaths. Most of the deaths occurred in patients younger than 6 months of age and early in our experience.