Surgical treatment of dysphagia lusória

Two cases of this anomaly, in women (26 and 49 years old), with symptoms of short duration (4 and 3 months) of dysphagia, regurgitation and esophagitis, without loss of weight, are presented. In both, the final diagnosis was made by mean of thoracic aortogram. Esophagoscopy realized only in the first patient, demonstrated the pulsatile esophageal compression. The first patient was operated on through a right cervical incision, made in the anterior border of the sternomastoid muscle. In the second, a partial sternotomy, combined with a right supraclavicular prolongation, was used. In both, the anomalous artery was taken from the aorta and behind the esophagus, and anastomosed to the right common carotid artery. The dysphagia disappeared in the second case, but persisted attenuated, in the first one. Manometric studies realized in the 3rd and 18th months postoperatively demonstrated an aperistaltic segment of the esophagus (between 4 and 7 cm from the superior sphincter).