[Churg-Strauss syndrome, femoral venous aneurysms and pulmonary thromboembolism].
OBJECTIVE
Venous aneurysms of the lower limbs are rare. When they involve the deep venous system, they can be associated with deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. The authors report the case of a 63-year-old women evaluated by duplex imaging and venography, in the context of a pulmonary embolism, and detected bilateral large aneurysms of the femoral veins (5 cm in the right femoral vein and 4 cm in the left femoral vein). The aneurysms were located at the bifurcation of the common femoral vein with the superficial and profound veins.


METHODS
The right aneurysm was partially thrombosed. The patient was asymptomatic in the lower-limb extremities. After a period of anticoagulation, the authors proceeded to surgically excise the right aneurysm and replaced the venous system using a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) graft with the construction of an a-v fistula.


RESULTS
The patient had no complications in the postoperative period and her 8-month follow-up examination revealed no symptoms, not even leg edema. The duplex scan showed patency of the graft. She continued with oral anticoagulation. The histologic examination revealed an eosinophilic inflammatory reaction of the vein wall, compatible with the diagnosis of Churg-Strauss syndrome.


CONCLUSIONS
The authors conclude that they have probably described the first case in the international literature of a venous aneurysm with a Churg-Strauss syndrome and pulmonary embolism.
Meireles
Nuno
N
Serviço de Angiologia e Cirurgia Vascular e de Anatomia Patológica do Hospital de Santa Marta, Lisboa.
Ferreira
M Emília
ME
Castro
J Silva
JS
Amaral
Carlos
C
Sobrinho
Gonçalo
G
Franca
Teresa
T
Albino
J A Pereira
JA
Carvalho
C Santos
CS
D000783:Aneurysm / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D015267:Churg-Strauss Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D005268:Femoral Vein; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000150:complications*