Open AccessDiagnosis of ruptured superior mesenteric artery aneurysm mimicking a pancreatic mass
Author(s) -
Stefano Palmucci,
Letizia Antonella Mauro,
Pietro Milone,
Francesco Di Stefano,
Antonio Scolaro,
Antonio Di Cataldo,
G Ettorre
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
world journal of gastroenterology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.427
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 2219-2840
pISSN - 1007-9327
DOI - 10.3748/wjg.v16.i18.2298
Subject(s) - medicine , radiology , superior mesenteric artery , pancreatic duct , pancreas , pseudoaneurysm , aneurysm , angiography , abdominal pain , pancreatic mass , pancreatitis , surgery
Aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms of the superior mesenteric artery are potentially lethal and should be treated as urgently as possible. In a 52-year-old man with occasional epigastric pain, we accidentally discovered a superior mesenteric artery aneurysm that was ruptured with spontaneous tamponade in the uncinate process and in the head of the pancreas. The ruptured aneurysm had a heterogeneous appearance due to its thrombotic and hemorrhagic content, and it simulated a voluminous mass in the head and uncinate process of the pancreas, associated with mild dilatation of the main pancreatic duct. Recent advances in multidetector computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging have enabled radiologists to develop a correct diagnosis of mesenteric aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms of the visceral branches of the abdominal aorta, and to differentiate this diagnosis from that of pancreatic or peripancreatic masses; angiography is currently used to confirm a diagnosis and to develop therapeutic treatments.