ORIGINAL ARTICLE Management of visceral artery aneurysms Conduta terapêutica em aneurismas de artérias viscerais

Objective: Visceral artery aneurysms, despite being uncommon, are important vascular diseases, since they frequently are life-threatening, and often fatal emergencies. The purpose of this study is to review our experience with treatments of visceral artery aneurysms. Method: Between 1988 and June, 2004, 37 visceral artery aneurysms were treated in 35 patients (17 male and 18 female) with average age of 56 ± 14 years. The most common locations were the splenic artery (18), the hepatic artery (10) and the superior mesenteric artery (four). 22 patients were asymptomatic, 13 patients were symptomatic. Emergency surgery was performed on three patients, elective open surgery on 29 patients, and endovascular treatment on seven patients. Results: Perioperative mortality rate was 3.1 % in the surgical group. The perioperative morbidity rate was 5.7%: one case o