Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery mimicking aortic dissection at transesophageal echocardiography

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is the most common imaging modality for the detection of acute aortic syndromes. However anomalous anatomic structures may be occasionally misunderstood as pathologic due of lack of familiarity with anatomical variations; false-positive diagnosis can result, potentially leading to unnecessary surgical intervention. It is crucial for echocardiographers to be aware of possible pitfalls which may create false positive findings, since the complementary use of other imaging modalities, such as multislice spiral computed tomography (MSCT), could improve the diagnostic accuracy of TEE. We report a case in which an image resembling an acute aortic dissection (AAD) on transthoracic (TTE) and transesophageal echocardiography was found in a patient with acute chest pain; MSCT detected an anomalous origin of the right coronary artery as cause of false aortic dissection image at echocardiography.