Hemiclamshell Approach Not Minimally Invasive!

Abstract

In this issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Salem and colleagues,1 from Frankfurt, Germany, have described an interesting approach to a symptomatic 31-year-old patient with a right aortic arch, aberrant left subclavian artery, and a moderate sized Kommerell diverticulum. The approach was through an upper ministernotomy connected to a left-sided hemiclamshell incision. They used a vascular stapler to occlude the base of the diverticulum, resected the diverticulum, and transferred the left subclavian artery to the left common carotid artery.