Methods: Between January 2012 and January 2013, routine contrast-enhanced thoracic multidetector computed tomography images of 1,170 patients were analyzed retrospectively for the frequency of variants of aortic arch and its branching.

Results: The total rate of aortic arch variants was 10.9%. The most common variant was of the left vertebral artery originating directly from the aortic arch in 53 patients (4.5%), followed by the left common carotid artery originating from the brachiocephalic trunk in 30 patients (2.6%). The variant of left vertebral artery directly originating from the aortic arch was twice more frequent in males than in females.

Conclusion: The prevalence of variants of the aortic arch is high in the Turkish population. Aortic arch branching variants are critical clinical conditions requiring special attention of vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, and head and neck surgeons. They should be diagnosed before interventional and surgical procedures. Multidetector computed tomography is a rapid and safe diagnostic modality for the evaluation of variants of the aortic arch and its branches.