Background: Gastric artery aneurysms are rarely caused by segmental arterial mediolysis (SAM), a condition that often involves multiple vessels. The clinical course of SAM after vessel rupture may vary depending on the involved vessels. For example, the "double-rupture phenomenon" observed following the rupture of the splenic artery aneurysm manifests as a biphasic and relatively slow clinical course. Even in cases of rupture of gastric artery aneurysm, the double-rupture phenomenon has only been reported in two cases so far. However, the rupture was not caused by SAM in either case. Herein, we present the apparent first case of a right gastric artery (RGA) aneurysm rupture caused by SAM that presented with a biphasic clinical course, possibly due to the double-rupture phenomenon. Case presentation: A 54-year-old woman was transferred to the emergency department with severe abdominal pain and a cold sweat for a duration of 3 h. She had developed mild abdominal pain and nausea 3 days earlier. Her vital signs were stable. Physical examination revealed tenderness in the epigastric area. Abdominal contrastenhanced computed tomography revealed an RGA aneurysm with contrast media extravasation. A diagnosis of hemoperitoneum following a ruptured RGA aneurysm was made, and the patient underwent angiography. However, this modality did not reveal any extravasation from the RGA due to an interruption in the peripheral branch of the artery. Nevertheless, to prevent major bleeding, we performed coil embolization at the point of interruption in the RGA, which we suspected to be a ruptured aneurysm. A distal gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y reconstruction for aneurysm resection was performed the following day. There were no postoperative complications, and the patient was discharged 17 days after surgery. Histologically, the RGA demonstrated multiple vacuoles in the medial muscle layer, which were characteristic of SAM. Conclusions: An RGA aneurysm rupture should be considered a differential diagnosis in patients presenting with hemoperitoneum with a slow or biphasic clinical course.
Background
Hemobilia refers to bleeding into the biliary tract. Hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm (HAP) rupture is an uncommon cause of hemobilia, and cases of HAP associated with Mirizzi syndrome are extremely rare. Although transarterial embolization is recommended as the first-line treatment for hemobilia, surgery is sometimes required.
Case presentation
A 76-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with epigastric pain. She was febrile and had conjunctival icterus and epigastric tenderness. Laboratory tests revealed abnormal white blood cell count and liver function. An abdominal computed tomography (CT) revealed multiple calculi in the gallbladder, an incarcerated calculus in the cystic duct, and a slightly dilated common hepatic duct. Based on examination findings, she was diagnosed with Mirizzi syndrome type I, complicated by cholangitis. Intravenous antibiotics were administered, and we performed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) to place a drainage tube. The fever persisted; therefore, contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) was performed. This revealed portal vein thrombosis and hepatic abscesses; therefore, heparin infusion was administered. The following day, she complained of melena, and laboratory tests showed that she was anemic. ERCP was performed to change the drainage tube in the bile duct; however, bleeding from the papilla of Vater was observed. CECT demonstrated a right HAP with high-density fluid in the gallbladder and gallbladder perforation. Finally, she was diagnosed with hemobilia caused by HAP rupture, and emergency surgery was performed to secure hemostasis and control the infection. During laparotomy, we found that a right HAP had ruptured into the gallbladder. The gallbladder made a cholecystobiliary fistula, which indicated Mirizzi syndrome type II. Although we tried to repair the right hepatic artery, we later ligated it due to arterial wall vulnerability. Then, we performed subtotal cholecystectomy and inserted a T-tube into the common bile duct. There were no postoperative complications except for minor leakage from the T-tube insertion site. The patient was discharged after a total hospital stay of 7 weeks.
Conclusions
We experienced an extremely rare case of emergency definitive surgery for hemobilia due to HAP rupture complicated by Mirizzi syndrome type II. Surgery might be indicated when controlling underlying infections was required.
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