CASE REPORTS  VASCULAR PAPERS 

The Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery 1999 December;40(6):871-5

Copyright © 2000 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Spontaneous rupture of the iliac vein

Bracale G., Porcellini M., D’Armiento F. P.*, Baldassarre M.

From the Departments of Vascular Surgery and *Pathology “Federico II” University of Naples, Naples, Italy

Two ­unusual ­cases of ­iliac ­vein spon­ta­neous rup­ture ­into the ret­ro­per­i­toneum are pre­sented ­together ­with 18 ­cases ­reported by the lit­er­a­ture. In one ­patient of ­ours, entrap­ment of ­clots in an IVC ­filter and prox­imal ­iliac ­vein involve­ment ­into the ­scar ­tissue sur­rounding the ­left ­limb of an aor­toi­liac bifur­ca­tion ­graft ­might ­have ­caused ­flow dis­tur­bances and sub­se­quent pre­dis­po­si­tion to rup­ture of the throm­bosed ­external ­iliac ­vein. Inflam­ma­tory ­parietal ­changes, ­including infil­tra­tion of mac­ro­phages, T and B lym­pho­cytes pro­ducing ­elastin deg­ra­da­tion by ­means of cyto­kines, may ­have led ulti­mately to ­vein dis­rup­tion. ­Despite clin­ical fea­tures and CT ­scan find­ings, the ­physician’s aware­ness of ­this dis­ease ­remains the ­most impor­tant ­factor for the ­early treat­ment.