Rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysms in Behçet's disease

Abstract

Behget's disease is a systemic disease of unknown etiology with a chronic relapsing course,characterized by oral aphtous, genital ulcers, ocular lesions, and occasionally vasculitis. Major asymptomatic vascular complications should always be considered in patients with Behget'sdisease. We present the surgical treatment of two male Behget's patients of 41 and 30 years of age with ruptured infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms. The urgent repairs of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms were performed successfully in both patients. Because Behget's disease is usually seen at young ages, vascular assessment should also be done routinely for early diagnosis and therapy, which can be life-saving.