Congenital Aortic Vascular Ring

Abstract

Congenital anomalies of the aortic arch system which produce symptoms by compression of the trachea and esophagus have been recognized since 1794 when Bayford¹described a patient with an anomalous right subclavian artery. This class of anomalies assumed new importance with the report by Gross⁶in 1945 of an operation in which he successfully divided a double aortic arch. Since that time the field of vascular surgery has matured to such an extent that we have recently decided to review our experience with this group of lesions, so-called vascular rings, to evaluate the contribution that refinements in operative technique have made to therapy. <h3>Clinical Material and Results</h3> From April, 1954, through July, 1963, twenty-three patients underwent operations at the Texas Children's, St. Luke's Episcopal, Methodist, and Jefferson Davis hospitals for congenital anomalies of the aortic arch system producing symptoms by compression of the esophagus and/or trachea. The varieties