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
. 2022 Jul 21:10:2050313X221109973.
doi: 10.1177/2050313X221109973. eCollection 2022.

Chronic abdominal aortic rupture mimicking femoral neuropathy

Pietro Modugno  1 , Fadia Salman  2 , Veronica Picone  1 , Maurizio Maiorano  1 , Enrico Maria Centritto  1 , Massimo Massetti  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Chronic abdominal aortic rupture mimicking femoral neuropathy

Pietro Modugno et al. SAGE Open Med Case Rep. .

Abstract

Chronic-contained rupture of an aortic aneurysm is a rare subset of ruptured aneurysms. The presentation is unusual, and the diagnosis is frequently delayed. Here, we describe a case of contained rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysm that presented with signs and symptoms of femoral neuropathy. Clinical and radiological findings were initially misinterpreted. The correct diagnosis was formulated belatedly, causing a progressively increased risk of fatal events. Surgical aortic repair was performed and the postoperative course was uneventful. In conclusion, in the presence of a retroperitoneal mass, a diagnosis of chronic-contained rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm should be considered.

Keywords: Abdominal aneurysm; aortic rupture; femoral neuropathy; low back pain; tomography X-ray computed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Contrast-enhanced axial multidetector CT angiography image reveals chronic-contained aneurysm rupture of the aorta within left ilio-psoas muscle (white arrow).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Computed tomography showing chronic-contained rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm with erosion into the L3 vertebral body (white arrows).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Intraoperative picture of the contained rupture.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Apter S, Rimon U, Konen E, et al.. Sealed rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysms: CT features in 6 patients and a review of the literature. Abdom Imaging 2010; 35(1): 99–105. - PubMed
    1. Szilagyi DE, Elliott JP, Smith RF. Ruptured abdominal aneurysms simulating sepsis. Arch Surg 1965; 91: 263–275.
    1. Galessiere PF, Downs AR, Greenberg HM. Chronic, contained rupture of aortic aneurysms associated with vertebral erosion. Can J Surg 1994; 37(1): 23–28. - PubMed
    1. Nguyen TT, Le NT, Doan QH. Chronic contained abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture causing vertebral erosion. Asian Cardiovasc Thorac Ann 2019; 27(1): 33–35. - PubMed
    1. Engamba SA, Garaleviciene D, Baldry J. Contained ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm presenting as cauda equina syndrome. BMJ Case Rep 2017; 2017: bcr2016216602. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources