Vol. 6, Issue 1, Part A (2024)

Introduction: An aortic aneurysm is an increase in the caliber of the aorta greater than or equal to 50% of its normal caliber. Complications associated with these aneurysms are dissection and thrombosis. The supra-aortic trunks are collaterals of the aorta which arise from its segment II, intended for the arterial vascularization of the head, neck and upper limbs. Sometimes there can be modifications in the birth of these vessels, we speak of anatomical variants, one variant of which was involved in this study: it is the arteria lusoria. The authors report their experience with a dissecting aortic aneurysm with parietal thrombosis in a subject with arteria lusoria.
Patient and Observation: This is a subject aged 68 at the time of diagnosis, male, known to be hypertensive for 10 years with poor follow-up. He was referred to the radiology and medical imaging department for assessment of chest pain with dyspnea and dysphagia. Faced with this clinical picture, a frontal chest X-ray then a thoraco abdominopelvic CT scan were requested. The diagnosis that was retained at the end of the analysis of the CT scan was: An aneurysmal development of the aorta; a Stanford type B aortic dissection; an Arteria Lusoria (discovered incidentally) with an aneurysm (complication of aortic aneurysm); parietal arterial thrombosis. The patient was admitted to the cardiovascular surgery department for further treatment.
Conclusion: Dissecting aortic aneurysm, although rare, makes a logical association. However, the extension of the aneurysm to a branch of the supra-aortic trunks represents the primary interest of the case presented. Finally, the fact that this branch of the supra-aortic trunks is an Arteria Lusoria makes this case extremely rare and constitutes the second interest of the case presented both clinically and diagnostically.