OBJECTIVE: To report a case of dysphagia lusoria managed by an extrathoracic approach. DESIGN: Case report and literature review. SETTING: A university hospital. PATIENT: A 39-year-old man, who presented with weight loss and dysphagia. Aortography and computed tomography revealed an aberrant subclavian artery compressing the esophagus against the aortic arch. INTERVENTION: The right subclavian artery was divided at its origin and reimplanted onto the right carotid artery. The operation was performed through a right supraclavicular incision without opening the chest. RESULTS: There was no operative morbidity. Six months postoperatively the patient was asymptomatic and had gained weight. There was no radiologic evidence of esophageal compression. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results of our case of dysphagia lusoria and the reports of others that have started to appear in the literature, consideration should be given to repairing a symptomatic, nonaneurysmal aberrant right subclavian artery through an extrathoracic approach.
OBJECTIVE: To report a case of dysphagia lusoria managed by an extrathoracic approach. DESIGN: Case report and literature review. SETTING: A university hospital. PATIENT: A 39-year-old man, who presented with weight loss and dysphagia. Aortography and computed tomography revealed an aberrant subclavian artery compressing the esophagus against the aortic arch. INTERVENTION: The right subclavian artery was divided at its origin and reimplanted onto the right carotid artery. The operation was performed through a right supraclavicular incision without opening the chest. RESULTS: There was no operative morbidity. Six months postoperatively the patient was asymptomatic and had gained weight. There was no radiologic evidence of esophageal compression. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results of our case of dysphagia lusoria and the reports of others that have started to appear in the literature, consideration should be given to repairing a symptomatic, nonaneurysmal aberrant right subclavian artery through an extrathoracic approach.