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
. 2024 Jul 4;10(5):101567.
doi: 10.1016/j.jvscit.2024.101567. eCollection 2024 Oct.

Successful open repair of syphilitic thoracoabdominal aneurysm

Franklin G Farid  1 , Justin M Schaffer  1 , Mazin I Foteh  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Successful open repair of syphilitic thoracoabdominal aneurysm

Franklin G Farid et al. J Vasc Surg Cases Innov Tech. .

Abstract

Most syphilitic aneurysms involve the ascending aorta. Those involving the descending aorta are less common, and those involving the abdominal aorta are unusual. Rarer yet, we present the case of a 40-year-old man with HIV and a history of syphilis with a thoracoabdominal aneurysm. The patient underwent antiretroviral therapy before elective open repair. His postoperative course was uneventful, and he was discharged home. Pathology demonstrated medial necrosis. Postoperatively, he was seen well in our multidisciplinary aorta center clinic. Today's vascular surgeons should be cognizant of cardiovascular syphilis. Successful care requires awareness of atypical presentations in addition to multispecialty care.

Keywords: Aortic aneurysm; Cardiovascular syphilis; Syphilitic aneurysm; Thoracoabdominal aneurysm repair.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

M.F. is a member of the endovascular division of the vascular advisory board at Terumo Aortic.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Three-dimensional reconstruction of our patient's syphilitic thoracoabdominal aneurysm before repair.
Fig 2
Fig 2
Operative exposure of syphilitic thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA).
Fig 3
Fig 3
Repair of the thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) with rifampin-soaked Dacron.
Fig 4
Fig 4
Three-dimensional reconstruction of our patient's syphilitic thoracoabdominal aneurysm 1 month postoperatively.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Yuan S.M. Syphilitic aortic aneurysm. Z Rheumatol. 2018;77:741–748. doi: 10.1007/s00393-018-0519-1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Syphilis. [Internet]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2024.. https://www.cdc.gov/std/statistics/2022/overview.htm#Syphilis
    1. Duncan J.M., Cooley D.A. Surgical considerations in aortitis. Part III: syphilitic and other forms of aortitis. Tex Heart Inst J. 1983;10:337–341. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Heggtveit H.A. Syphilitic aortitis. A clinicopathologic autopsy study of 100 cases, 1950 to 1960. Circulation. 1964;29:346–355. - PubMed
    1. Kisis K., Krievins D., Gedins M., Savlovskis J., Ezite N., Ivanova P. Patient with syphilitic thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms. Acta Chir Latv. 2010;10:131–133.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources