LEFT-SIDED ESOPHAGEAL INDENTATION IN RIGHT AORTIC-ARCH WITH ABERRANT LEFT SUBCLAVIAN ARTERY

PURPOSE: To determine the structures responsible for the left-sided in dentation in right aortic arch (RAA) with aberrant left subclavian art ery (ALSA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was performed in five patients with RAA with ALSA in whom barium esophago graphy demonstrated a left-sided defect at the level of the aortic arc h. RESULTS: In four patients, the aortic diverticulum (dorsal aortic r oot remnant) extended to the left of the esophagus, explaining the lef t-sided indentation. In one of those four patients, the ALSA contribut ed to this defect. In only one patient was no patent vascular structur e identified to the left of the esophagus, and it was assumed that the ligamentum arteriosum alone produced this defect. CONCLUSION: The aor tic diverticulum appears to be an important factor in the production o f the left-sided esophageal defect in patients with RAA with ALSA.