title: Aneurysm of the common iliac artery presenting as a lumbosacral plexopathy.
abstract: We describe a case of lumbosacral plexopathy caused by an isolated aneurysm of the common iliac artery. The patient presented with worsening low back pain, progressive numbness and weakness of the right leg in the L2-L4 distribution. This had previously been diagnosed as sciatica. A CT scan showed an aneurysm of the right common iliac artery which measured 8 cm in diameter. Despite being listed for emergency endovascular stenting, the aneurysm ruptured and the patient died. It is important to distinguish a lumbosacral plexopathy from sciatica and to bear in mind its treatable causes which include aneurysms of the common and internal iliac arteries.
authors.affiliation: St. Andrews Centre for Plastic Surgery and Burns, Broomfield Hospital, England. mdgardiner@gmail.com
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Gardiner
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mangwani
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017542:Aneurysm, Ruptured / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D017543:Iliac Aneurysm / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008160:Lumbosacral Plexus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D011859:Radiography