Ebstein’s anomaly is rarely accompanied by coarctation of the aorta, although patients with Ebstein’s anomaly have a relatively small left ventricle. Here, we report a rare case of Ebstein’s anomaly with coarctation of the aorta and a bicuspid aortic valve. We compared the foetal echocardiographic parameters of five previous cases with Ebstein’s anomaly without left heart obstruction to explore the association between left ventricular volume, Ebstein’s anomaly severity, and left heart obstruction.

According to the modified World Health Organization classification, pregnant women with unrepaired aortic coarctation are at very high risk for both maternal and fetal complications and should, therefore, be counselled against pregnancy. The most frequent maternal complications include systemic hypertension, renal failure, preeclampsia, and aortic dissection. Herein, we describe a successful pregnancy in an adult patient with unrepaired aortic coarctation.

Left aortic arch with right descending aorta associated with coarctation of the aorta is a rare congenital cardiac anomaly. Conventional aortic arch repair in this condition may cause airway compression by the abnormally coursing descending aorta. We present the case of a neonate with this anomaly who underwent successful descending aortic translocation to prevent postoperative left main bronchial stenosis.

Aortic arch stent placement in young children is a medical dilemma. This is attributed to the critical lack of commercially available stents that can be delivered through small sheaths and yet have the potential to be dilated to the adult-size aorta. Here in, we describe an innovative first-in-human technique that allows for overcoming the aforementioned challenges. A Palmaz Genesis XD stent was placed to treat coarctation of the aorta in two young children through small-bore sheaths.

Therapeutic options are limited for the management of extremely low-birth-weight infants with critical aortic coarctation despite high doses of prostaglandin infusion. We report successful hybrid, fluoroscopy-free, echocardiography-guided primary stenting of native aortic coarctation in a 920-grams premature infant.

Device-induced aortic obstruction is a known rare complication following transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus in extremely low-birth-weight infants. Various mechanisms have been proposed. We report the first description of late aortic obstruction due to ductal vasoconstriction on pulmonic end causing device to be gradually pushed out of aortic end in a 980-gram premature infant.

We report our experience and early outcomes of using the BeGraft aortic stent in children, adolescents, and young adults. BeGraft aortic stent (Bentley InnoMed, Hechingen, Germany) requires a smaller long sheath compared to other covered stents, and it has a low profile and adequate radial power. With these features, it can overcome some limitations in the treatment of coarctation, especially in children. This is a single centre retrospective analysis of 11 implanted BeGraft aortic stents in coarctation of the aorta between July 2020 and November 2021. The eleven stents were successfully implanted in 11 patients (10 males). The median age of the patients was 13.7 years (interquartile range 12–16 years), and the median weight was 43 kg (interquartile range 35–62 kg). In five patients, after the stents were opened completely by the first balloon, they were exchanged with a Z-MED II™ balloon, 1–3 mm larger in diameter, and the stents were redilated. The median catheter-derived systolic peak-to-peak pressure gradient was 23 mm Hg (interquartile range 16–37 mmHg) before the procedure and 3 mm Hg (interquartile range 1–5 mm Hg) after the procedure. Except for the partial femoral artery thrombosis in two patients, no other procedural complications were observed in our study. The median follow-up duration was 5 months (interquartile range 2–12 months). During follow-up, only one patient (9%) had stent narrowing that required dilation. Our initial results and short-term follow-up showed that the BeGraft aortic stent implantation and redilation can be performed effectively, safely, and successfully in the treatment of coarctation of the aorta.

Transposition of the great arteries is the most common cyanotic CHD in newborns. This CHD, in which the aorta arises from the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery from the left ventricle, is often accompanied by one or several defects such as atrial septal defect or patent foramen ovale, ventricular septal defect and patent ductus arteriosus, which allow the transition between both parallel circulations. Rarely, the disease may be accompanied by left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (subpulmonary obstruction) and coarctation of the aorta.

We present a highly complicated and unusual transposition of the great arteries patient with critical aortic coarctation and hypoplastic pulmonary arteries with abnormal outflow and course.

In patients with critical coarctation of the aorta, percutaneous balloon angioplasty and/or stent placement is usually performed via the femoral route. When femoral access is not suitable for intervention, the trans-axillary approach can be chosen as an alternative access. We hereby present the first case of a patient who had a successful percutaneous stent placement via trans-axillary access in our institution.

A 4-day-old girl with Posterior fossa anomalies, Haemangiomas of the head and neck, Arterial, Cardiovascular, and Eye anomalies and ventral developmental defect syndrome comprising a facial haemangioma, aortic coarctation at the aortic arch, torturous aortic aneurysm distal to coarctation, and ductus arteriosus originating proximal to the coarctation is presented. The aortic arch was successfully reconstructed without cardiopulmonary bypass, and she is currently doing well after 4 years and 8 months.

Right aortic arch in association with coarctation of the aorta and vascular ring is a rare anatomy. We present an infant with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion, who had the right aortic arch with retroesophageal aberrant left subclavian artery and left internal carotid artery. The left external carotid artery and right common carotid artery originated together from the ascending aorta as a bovine branch. The infant also had severe coarctation, which was prostaglandin dependent.

Patent ductus arteriosus is the most common cardiovascular abnormality in premature infants. With newly available percutaneous devices, centres are reporting high rates of success and favourable safety profiles with percutaneous closure of haemodynamically significant ductus arteriosi in infants under 1000 g. We report the case of a 5-week-old, previous 25-week gestation, 1200-g infant who underwent successful percutaneous closure of a ductus arteriosus with a Medtronic Microvascular Plug but who developed late-term coarctation from the device. This case should prompt practitioners to consider the need and timing of follow-up echocardiograms in this population and sheds light on a newly reported long-term complication of device closure in premature infants.

Spontaneous regression of severe aortic coarctation with ductus dependency has not been reported. We experienced a case of trisomy 18 with spontaneous regression of severe aortic coarctation complicated by ventricular septal defect and patent ductus arteriosus. The aortic isthmus diameter was 1.2 mm at birth. After 5 months, it increased to 4.5 mm, and the shape of the isthmus was fully normalised.

Persistence of the embryonic “fifth aortic arch” in postnatal life is a rare, enigmatic – and at times controversial – condition, with variable anatomical forms and physiological consequences. First described in humans over 40 years ago by Van Praagh, the condition was labelled the “great pretender” by Gerlis 25 years later, because of its apparent propensity to mimic anatomically similar structures. Despite many subsequent case reports citing the condition, the true developmental origin of these structures remains unresolved, and has been the subject of debate among embryologists for more than a century. A persistent fifth aortic arch has been defined as an extrapericardial structure, arising from the ascending aorta opposite or proximal to the brachiocephalic artery, and terminating in the dorsal aorta or pulmonary arteries via a persistently patent arterial duct. This description may therefore encompass various anatomical forms, such as a unilateral double-lumen aortic arch, an unrestrictive aortopulmonary shunt, or a critical vascular channel for either the systemic or pulmonary circulation. The physiological properties of these vessels, such as their response to prostaglandins, may also be unpredictable. In this article, we demonstrate a number of cases that fulfil the contemporary definition of “persistent fifth aortic arch” while acknowledging the embryological controversies associated with this term. We also outline the key diagnostic features, particularly with respect to the use of new cross-sectional imaging techniques.