Innominate Artery Compression of the Trachea

Aortopexy for Innominate Artery Tracheal Compression in Children

“…The outcomes of this study were favorable in that all patients reported subjective improvement. Specifically, the complete response rate of 62% and partial response rate of 38% are in accordance with outcomes in other studies assessing the success of aortopexy 2,4,6,10,13,17‐20 . In general, these studies report complete response rates ranging from 57% to 100%.…”

“…Our patient population experienced a complication rate of 4% (95% CI, 0.01%‐20%), with a single wound infection as our only complication of surgery. Based on the 95% confidence interval, the true rate of complication may be as high as 20%, although the 4% rate measured in this study aligns with the literature, which reports complication rates ranging from 0% to 12.5% 4,17,18,20 …”

Mild tracheal compression by aberrant innominate artery and chronic dry cough in children

“…Other factors, including thymic involution, growth of rib cage, and of the supportive tracheal cartilages may also explain the decreased incidence of TC with advancing age . Other anatomic anomalies, such as primary tracheomalacia, can be important causative factors of this condition . However, as shown by the present study and by other reports, this syndrome may be detected also in older children, a later diagnosis being related to less severe symptoms and, possibly, to a lower degree of TC .…”

“…8,[29][30][31] Other anatomic anomalies, such as primary tracheomalacia, can be important causative factors of this condition. [5][6][7][8]10,27,31 However, as shown by the present study and by other reports, 8,24,[29][30][31][32][33] this syndrome may be detected also in older children, a later diagnosis being related to less severe symptoms and, possibly, to a lower degree of TC. 3,8,29,34 How can a mild TC be involved in the pathogenesis of cough?…”

“…The rapid clinical improvement observed in AIA children treated with aortopexy definitively supports the role of AIA‐induced TC in the pathogenesis of recurrent/chronic dry cough. Clinical presentation can vary in type but, as reported by others, the severity of respiratory disorders does not appear to be strictly correlated with the degree of the anatomical obstruction. Also a mild tracheal compression on CT scans may be relevant for the symptoms, especially when associated with frequent exposure to triggers, comorbidities and/or localized tracheomalacia.…”