Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2021 Aug 27:35:100521.
doi: 10.1016/j.tcr.2021.100521. eCollection 2021 Oct.

Delayed diagnosis of dorsal scapular artery pseudoaneurysm following blunt chest trauma

LongHai Jin  1 , Ailene Fitzgerald  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Delayed diagnosis of dorsal scapular artery pseudoaneurysm following blunt chest trauma

LongHai Jin et al. Trauma Case Rep. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Pseudoaneurysm is a well-recognised form of vascular injury following blunt trauma. Its diagnosis is often delayed due to late manifestation of signs and symptoms. Nonetheless, complications of pseudoaneurysm can be severe and even fatal. A 60-year-old man presented to our tertiary trauma centre with blunt chest trauma. His treatment was initially focused on the left clavicular fracture. He was eventually diagnosed with a dorsal scapular artery pseudoaneurysm and a large chest wall haematoma on computed tomography on his third hospital admission in two weeks. This pseudoaneurysm was treated with endovascular embolisation. This article highlights the value of meticulous clinical examination as well as judicious use of biochemistry and imaging in trauma management.

Keywords: Blunt chest trauma; Delayed diagnosis; Dorsal scapular artery; False aneurysm; Pseudoaneurysm.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
X-ray plain film of the chest showing the left clavicle fixation failure (arrow) and the unrecognised displaced left third rib fracture (arrow heads).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Axial (A) and coronal (B) computed tomography images showing the left dorsal scapular artery pseudoaneurysm (arrow) with surrounding intramuscular haematoma adjacent to the displaced left third rib fracture (arrow heads).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Angiogram images showing the left dorsal scapular artery pseudoaneurysm (arrow) pre-embolisation (A) and post-embolisation (B) with three VortX coils and Gelfoam.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Sidawy A.P., Perler B.A. Elsevier; 2019. Rutherford’s Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy.
    1. Saad N.E., Saad W.E., Davies M.G., Waldman D.L., Fultz P.J., Rubens D.J. Pseudoaneurysms and the role of minimally invasive techniques in their management. Radiographics. 2005 Oct;25(Suppl 1):S173–S189. - PubMed
    1. Verenna A.A., Alexandru D., Karimi A., Brown J.M., Bove G.M., Daly F.J. Dorsal scapular artery variations and relationship to the brachial plexus, and a related thoracic outlet syndrome case. J. Brachial Plex Peripher Nerve Inj. 2016 May 10;11(1):e21–e28. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chaijaroonkhanarak W., Kunatippapong N., Ratanasuwan S., Amarttayakong P., Umka J., Prachaney P. Origin of the dorsal scapular artery and its relation to the brachial plexus in Thais. Anat. Sci. Int. 2014 Mar;89(2):65–70. - PubMed
    1. RMH McMinn. 9th Edition. Elsevier; 1998. Last’s Anatomy: Regional and Applied.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources