Abstract
We report herein two cases of thoracic esophageal cancer with a right aortic arch. Both cases were elderly males who complained of dysphagia. Computed tomography and aortography revealed a right aortic arch with a mirror-image branching and a diverticulum of the right descending aorta in both cases. They underwent an esophagectomy and a mediastinal lymph node dissection in a left thoractomy, and we also added a median sternotomy in the second case for a lymph node dissection in the right mediastinum. The ductus arteriosus was divided in the first case, but he died of a rupture of the aortic diverticulum 13 months later. In conclusion, for a successful esophagectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection, a median sternotomy should be added to the left thoractomy, while careful attention should also be paid to the aortic diverticulum and the ductus arteriosus.
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Saito, R., Kitamura, M., Suzuki, H. et al. Esophageal cancer associated with right aortic arch: Report of two cases. Surg Today 29, 1164–1167 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02482266
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02482266