Surgical treatment for vascular anomalies and tracheoesophageal compression / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

ABSTRACT

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Vascular rings are uncommon anomalies in which preferred strategies for diagnosis and management may vary among institutions. In this study, we reported our approach and a review of our 5-year experience.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>From May 2006 to April 2011, 45 children (31 boys) with vascular rings underwent surgical repair at Beijing Children's Hospital. Nineteen patients (26%) had associated heart anomalies.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were two hospital deaths. At follow-up, 11 patients still had intermittent respiratory symptoms, but these symptoms had no effect on growth or physical activities. No patients required reoperation.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The rates of misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis of vascular rings are higher than those of other congenital heart diseases. A high index of clinical suspicion coupled with the use of computed tomography enables early diagnosis. Surgical repair can be performed successfully, although a number of patients will have persistent symptoms.</p>