Diagram shows Assessment of the seriously ill child

Vascular ring and Double aortic arch

What is vascular ring ?

vascular ring is a malformation of the aortic arch that results in vascular branches or major blood vessels encircling the trachea and esophagus. In the double aortic arch (one of the most common vascular ring malformation patterns)It is most often due to persistence of the double aortic arch "right-sided aortic arch is present" after the second month of fetal life.

The two arches surround the esophagus and trachea which, if sufficiently constrictive, may cause breathing or swallowing difficulties.

In other vascular ring malformations, vascular remnants such as the ligamentum arteriosum (formerly the ductus arteriosus) may be part of the ring encircling the trachea and esophagus.

The esophagus and trachea are both compressed by the vascular ring made by malformation of the brachial arch vessels.

APGAR Scoring for Newborns

Click on diagrams for enlargment

A score is given for each sign at one minute and five minutes after the birth. If there are problems with the baby an additional score is given at 10 minutes. A score of 7-10 is considered normal, while 4-7 might require some resuscitative measures, and a baby with apgars of 3 and below requires immediate resuscitation.