Diagnosing Vascular Rings at Cleveland Clinic Children’s
Vascular rings start during fetal development, before birth. These extra blood vessels wrap around the windpipe (trachea), the food tube (esophagus) or both. They compress these tubes. This limits blood supply and affects breathing and swallowing. The most common aortic rings are:
- Double aortic arch: The aorta divides into two arches before becoming a single blood vessel again. It can compress the esophagus, trachea or both.
- Right aortic arch with aberrant subclavian artery: The subclavian artery arises abnormally from the aorta and can constrict the esophagus and/or trachea.
Your baby may show vascular ring symptoms soon after birth. Or they may develop signs as they grow. These can include wheezing, coughing, frequent respiratory infections or bluish skin (cyanosis). Your child may also have trouble swallowing, chronic acid reflux (GERD) and vomiting. They may also not gain weight like they should.
What to expect at the first visit
When you and your child come to your first appointment, we won’t jump right into testing and a physical exam. We’ll start by talking and getting to know each other. We’ll ask about:
- What kind of symptoms your child has
- When they started
- How long they’ve had them
- How they’re affecting their life.
- If you’ve talked to your child’s pediatrician about it
During this visit, your child’s provider will do a physical exam and order more tests to find out what’s going on with their trachea, esophagus, chest, abdomen (belly) and heart.
Testing for vascular rings
Because vascular rings can cause many different symptoms, your child may have several tests to help their providers pinpoint a diagnosis. These may include:
Meet our vascular rings team
Cleveland Clinic Children’s team-based approach to care means your child will get a care team of different providers from different specialties. These experts are handpicked to meet your child’s unique needs and diagnosis. Your child may see:
0 Providers Who Treat Vascular Rings
Locations
Our healthcare providers see patients at convenient locations throughout Northeast Ohio.
Treating Vascular Rings at Cleveland Clinic Children’s
We can’t prevent vascular rings from developing. But we can treat them. Your child’s treatment plan will depend on how the rings are affecting things like swallowing, breathing and your child’s overall health.
If vascular rings press on your child’s esophagus or trachea, they’ll likely need surgery. Depending on how bad the symptoms are (and if they have a double aortic arch), our surgeons may operate right away. If they don’t have symptoms, we may take a “watchful waiting” approach and keep a close eye on things as your child grows.
Surgery for vascular rings
Our surgeons do a thoracotomy to repair vascular rings. They’ll divide vascular rings to relieve pressure on your child’s esophagus or trachea. They may also need to take out the abnormal arteries and then put them back in, or remove irregular parts in the the aorta.
Lifelong care
Your child may have symptoms for a few months after surgery, but these usually clear up within a year. They’ll need to have follow-up care and testing well into adulthood. So as they grow into adolescence and young adulthood, we’ll help them transition comfortably to our adult providers.
Taking the Next Step
No one wants to hear their child has a congenital heart condition. Especially one that may need surgery. We understand that a vascular rings diagnosis can be overwhelming. That’s why we give you and your child compassionate support and the best care. We want them to get back to growing, thriving and having fun as quickly as possible.
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Getting an appointment with Cleveland Clinic Children’s vascular rings experts is easy. We’ll help your child get care.
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