[Prenatal diagnosis of right aortic arch. Types of presentation and postnatal evolution].

BACKGROUND

Right aortic arch is the most common abnormality of the aortic arch, excluding aberrant right subclavian artery. Its importance lies in its association with genetic syndromes, another important congenital heart defects, and that may cause clinical symptons from vascular rings.

OBJECTIVE

Was to describe the prenatal clinical presentation, the correlation with postnatal findings and postnatal development of the fetus.

METHODS

Observational retrospective analysis of 18 cases of right aortic arch diagnosed prenatally between the years 2005-2011.

RESULTS

5 pregnancies were interrupted because of ultrasound findings associated with poor prognosis. In 13 cases were term infants, with a good correlation between prenatal and postnatal findings, and the prognosis was excellent in cases in which the prenatal diagnosis of right aortic arch was isolated.

CONCLUSIONS

In our experience, right aortic arch is a rare condition, but it can be associated with important congenital heart defects (heart disease or vascular rings) and/or other morphological anomalies in the fetus, in which case it should be ruled out chromosomal or genetic syndrome. If prenatally is considered an isolated finding, after careful ultrasound assessment by obstetricians and pediatric cardiologists, it is likely that evolution will be favorable postnatally.