Aneurysm of the profunda femoris artery manifested as acute groin pain in a child

Abstract

Arterial aneurysms in children are extremely rare and can be of congenital, inflammatory, and infectious nature or secondary to trauma. The authors describe the case of a 8-year-old boy who was admitted in the hospital with fever and severe groin pain. He had a true saccular aneurysm of 4 cm in diameter originating from the profunda femoris artery with, according to the clinical and angiographic findings, arteriovenous communication with the femoral veins. Because the aneurysm was firmly adherent to the deep femoral vein, the latter was resected and the venous continuity was restored with a saphenous vein bypass graft. The patient recovered without any complication. The histologic examination showed a normal intimal layer and partially disrupted medial elastic fibers without inflammatory infiltrate, suggesting the diagnosis of a true arterial aneurysm.