Peripancreatic artery aneurysm: Report of three cases

Aneurysms of the visceral arteries are relatively rare. Those of the peripancreatic artery are especially rare and are usually detected only when the patient is critically ill and experiencing abdominal pain associated with rupture of the artery or hemorrhagic shock. Because these complications are frequently fatal, it is important to detect and manage the underlying lesions before symptoms appear. Here we report aneurysms of the visceral arteries in three patients: a dorsal pancreatic aneurysm in one and splenic aneurysms in the other two. Color flow Doppler and pulsed Doppler ultrasonography proved extremely useful for diagnosing this disease, and may allow early diagnosis of aneurysms when examining cystic lesions in and around the pancreas. Intravenous digital subtraction angiography (IV-DSA) and magnetic resonance angiography (MR-angiography) are less-invasive techniques that may prove useful for diagnosing aneurysms of the peripancreatic artery.