[Abnormalities of the aortic arch. Apropos of 30 surgical cases in children].

Few large surgical series have till now been devoted to aortic arch anomalies. Thirty cases operated upon in 10 years at the Hôpital Sainte-Justine are studied in the present work; they include: 8 cases of double-arch, 21 of aberrant subclavian arteries and 1 of aberrant brachio-cephalic trunk. In this apparently very complex embryological domain, a simplified classification, easy to remember even by the non-specialist, might be applied. There are no clinically significant differences between the various anatomical anomalies considered, the latter showing generally, soon after birth, by respiratory manifestations. The frequently severe spontaneous course requires an early diagnosis which relies on a simple procedure: the oesophagogram. A quick surgical treatment is then indicated, and the majority of our patients were operated upon in the early months of life. No post-operative death was observed and the long-term course might be considered as excellent in all the cases in which the malformation was alone and corrected early.