A 52-year-old woman presented at our department for progressive dysphagia for almost 1 year, with food vomiting. An esophagoscopy showed a polypoidal mass, 25 cm from the incisors, in the middle third of the esophagus. Biopsy confirmed the presence of a squamous cell carcinoma shown in Figure 1. CT revealed also a right aortic arch, classified as an aortic anomaly of type III-A: A mirror image branching of the normal left aortic arch, according to Edward's classification (Panel B). Type IIIB is the most frequent, followed by Type IIIA. The classification of aortic anomalies by Edward's et al. is based on their theoretical concept of the development of the aortic arch. Right aortic arch is a rare condition, this congenital vascular anomaly is thought to occur in approximately ~0.1% (Range 0.05% to 0.2%) of the population, and it is reported to represent from 1% to 2% of congenital diseases of the heart and aorta. In patients with a right aortic arch, the aorta surrounds the esophagus and trachea, causing the compression and deviation of these structures, as well as deviation of the recurrent laryngeal nerve. This is why great Case Blog iMedPub Journals www.imedpub.com
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