Natural History of Asymptomatic and Unrepaired Vascular Rings: Is Watchful Waiting a Viable Option? A New Case and Review of Previously Reported Cases

Vascular rings are a rare form of congenital heart disease in which abnormal aortic arch anatomy leads to encircling of the esophagus and/or trachea by the aortic vasculature. Symptoms can develop from this and prompt the need for surgery. A natural history study has been done on mildly symptomatic...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inChildren (Basel) Vol. 3; no. 4; p. 44
Main Author Loomba, Rohit S
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland MDPI 21.12.2016
MDPI AG
Subjects
asymptomatic
Case Report
double aortic arch
right aortic arch
unrepaired
vascular anomaly
vascular ring
double aortic arch
vascular anomaly
asymptomatic
right aortic arch
vascular ring
unrepaired
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Vascular rings are a rare form of congenital heart disease in which abnormal aortic arch anatomy leads to encircling of the esophagus and/or trachea by the aortic vasculature. Symptoms can develop from this and prompt the need for surgery. A natural history study has been done on mildly symptomatic patients but no such study has been done on asymptomatic patients. We present a case report of three children with asymptomatic vascular rings who continue to receive follow-up without intervention and review all published cases of asymptomatic or unrepaired vascular rings. Clinical observation of asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic vascular rings, regardless of aortic arch anatomy, seems to be a safe approach. Children with mild symptoms almost invariably seem to have resolution of their symptoms by four years of age.
ISSN:2227-9067
2227-9067
DOI:10.3390/children3040044