[Undiagnosed double aortic arch causing respiratory disturbances after 15-years]

The double aortic arch is a very rare vascular anomaly belonging to a group so called vascular rings. The pressure of abnormal "doubled" aorta on the trachea and esophagus is a cause of sometimes sever symptoms of the respiratory tract such as dyspnea, stridor or cyanosis and recurrent respiratory infections. The authors present a case of a 15 year old boy who had stridor, cough and recurrent respiratory infections. Due to the symptoms the boy was treated for bronchial asthma. Correct diagnosis of double aortic arch was made after the X-ray examination of the chest with barium in the esophagus, followed by bronchoscopy, angiographic and NMR examinations. Surgery treatment was successful.