Right subclavian artery aneurysm in an adolescent with a bicuspid aortic valve

Bicuspic aortic valve is the most common congenital cardiac anomaly (Fedak et al. 106:900-904, 2002), and it is associated with other structural anomalies of the aorta, such as coarctation, suggesting a common embryologic developmental mechanism (Mergan et al. 104:118-119, 2004). In more than a half of patients, it is associated with progressive dilation and aneurysm formation of the aorta (Warnes 89:965-966, 2003) despite normally functioning bicuspid aortic valves. In this context, aneurysms of the right subclavian artery are extremely rare, and even more so when associated with a right-sided aortic arch that has a left aberrant subclavian artery with a Kommerell diverticulum, as found in the reported case. These aneurysms represent a significant risk for thromboembolism and rupture, and elective surgical management should be advised, even for asymptomatic cases.