Pseudoaortic dissection

Abstract

A 72-year-old man was brought to our emergency department (ED) because of upper abdominal pain. Initial vitals at the triage station were significant only for high blood pressure. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen with contrast enhancement revealed an intimal flap over his descending aorta, the infrarenal part. The flap was found throughout the descending aorta until its bifurcation. Stanford type B dissection was initially suspected. However, a reconstructed CT discovered an interesting feature of the aorta. A high aortic bifurcation at the level of the second lumbar vertebrae, in conjunction with bilateral common iliac arteries, appeared in pair, masquerading the CT image as infrarenal aortic dissection. Actually, that was a variant in human anatomy. A reconstructed sagittal view of the CT scan is mandatory for a patient with abdomen pain to avoid misinterpretation of the radiographic image.