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Purpose: The objective of this study is to report a case of a 65-year-old woman who presented with pallor and pain of her left arm secondary to a true arterial brachial aneurysm, which was successfully treated with saphenous vein bypass and embolization of the aneurysm sac. A review of the literature is also presented. Case report: A 65-year-old woman presented with an acute onset of pallor and pain of her left forearm, and hand. On physical examination, there was a pulsatile mass at the forearm. A doppler ultrasound showed a fusiform aneurysmal dilatation of the brachial artery of 23 mm of diameter. A dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI angiogram confirmed a fusiform dilation of the distal brachial artery. The patient was scheduled for open repair. A fusiform 20 x 60 mm aneurysm of the distal brachial artery extending to the cubital fossa was found and a brachial artery to radial and ulnar arteries bypass with interposed reverse right saphenous vein was created. Embolization of the aneurysm sac was performed using Gelita-spon ® (Gelita Medical, Eberbach, Germany). A final angiogram showed an adequate perfusion through the bypass to the hand, and no contrast in the aneurysmal sac. Postoperative course was uneventful with discharge on the fourth postoperative day. Conclusion: Revascularization with autologous saphenous vein graft and exclusion of the aneurysm with local embolization is a good treatment alternative in a patient with symptomatic brachial aneurysm with distal embolization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

True arterial aneurysms of the upper extremity are rare. The case described is that of a 48-year-old man presenting with median neuropathy and distal vascular compromise 4 years after ligation of a brachiocephalic arteriovenous fistula. We describe our approach and present a review of the relevant literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While brachial artery aneurysms are rare and usually of infectious, post-traumatic or iatrogenic etiology, true aneurysms of the brachial artery are even more unusual. We report on a large brachial artery aneurysm complicated by chronic contained rupture and partial outflow obstruction. This was observed 19 years after ligation of a radiocephalic (Brescia-Cimino) arteriovenous fistula for hemodialysis that had existed for 2 years. Of 581 brachial artery reconstructions performed at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation between January 1989 and December 2000, only three involved repairs of brachial artery aneurysms; only the reported case was a true aneurysm of degenerative origin for an incidence of 0.17% (1/581). The management of brachial artery aneurysms is described and the pertinent literature was reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]