Celiac artery aneurysm: a case report

Abstract

Aneurysm of the celiac artery is an uncommon clinical problem; fewer than 180 cases have been reported in the world medical literature. Most patients are symptomatic at the time of diagnosis. However, occasionally such aneurysms are detected incidentally during diagnostic imaging for other diseases. We present the case of a 72-year-old man who had an asymptomatic celiac artery aneurysm detected by computed tomographic angiography after endoluminal exclusion of an infrarenal aortic aneurysm. The patient underwent successful resection of the aneurysm and revascularization of the aorta-common hepatic and splenic arteries with use of an autologous saphenous vein graft.

Fig. 1 Contrast angiogram shows the infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm with bilateral common iliac artery involvement.

Fig. 2 Contrast angiogram after endoluminal exclusion of the abdominal aortic aneurysm with a bifurcated Medtronic AneuRx® stent graft.

Fig. 3 Computed tomographic scan shows the aneurysm of the celiac artery approximately 1 cm distal to the artery's origin.

Fig. 4 A) Selective celiac artery angiography shows the celiac artery aneurysm. B) Three-dimensional reconstructed magnetic resonance angiography reveals the aneurysm of the celiac artery just after the artery's takeoff from the aorta.

Fig. 5 A) Illustration of celiac aneurysm involving the left gastric, hepatic, and splenic arteries. B) Vascular reconstruction of the celiac trunk to the hepatic and splenic arteries with a saphenous vein graft. Note that the celiac aneurysm has been resected and the original celiac os on the aorta oversewn. A = artery; L = left

Fig. 6 Computed tomographic scan obtained at the 2-year follow-up shows no aneurysm of the celiac artery at the same level as shown in Figure 3.