Abstract
Double aortic arch (DAA) with atresia of the distal segment of the left arch is a variant of a complete vascular ring (VR) that mimics an extremely rare anomaly in the development of the aortic arch – the right aortic arch (RAA) with a mirror type of branching in combination with the left retroesophageal ductus arteriosus (DA). Despite the fact that both variants lead to the formation of complete vascular rings, their differential diagnosis is of great clinical importance. Since, in DAA, VR is formed not only between the right and left aortic arches, but also between RAA and left DA, this anomaly is subject to a higher risk of early clinical manifestation than the variant of RAA in combination with contralateral DA. With the functioning of both arches, the anatomy of the VR is easily established using visual research methods, including echocardiography. When the left aortic arch contains an atretic area, due to the complete absence of blood flow (contrast) in it, the visual diagnosis of DAA cannot be unambiguous, so the final verification of the VR anatomy occurs directly during surgical treatment. We describe a clinical case of prospective ultrasound diagnosis of DAA with atresia of the segment between the left subclavian artery and the left DA in a newborn on the first day of life, where we demonstrate the key features of visual diagnostics that help in making an accurate diagnosis.
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About the authors
- Ol’ga G. Malozemova, Ultrasonic Diagnostician; ORCID
- Rena M. Gasanova, Dr. Med. Sci., Head of Perinatal Cardiocenter, Cardiologist, Ultrasonic Diagnostician; ORCID
- Аleksandr А. Esayan, Cand. Med. Sci., Senior Researcher; ORCID
- Elena V. Kholmanskaya, Ultrasonic Diagnostician; ORCID
- Khiba R. Turko, Ultrasonic Diagnostician; ORCID
- Tamara A. Yarygina, Cand. Med. Sci., Researcher, Ultrasonic Diagnostician; ORCID
- Artem A. Burov, Cand. Med. Sci., Head of Clinical Work at the Department of Neonatal Surgery,
Anesthesiologist-Resuscitator, Neonatologist; ORCID
