Surgical repair of an inferior mesenteric artery aneurysm and review of literature

Aneurysms of the inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) are extremely rare, representing about 1% of all visceral aneurysms. we describe a case of IMA aneurysm in a asymptomatic 70 year old male. The aneurysm was occasionally detected by abdominal ultrasound scan. A CT-angiography (CTA), performed after admission, showed a 3.2 cm saccular partially thrombosed aneurysm without signs of rupture and with no stenosis of IMA and of the other visceral arteries. In order to preserve the IMA and to eliminate risk of rupture we performed an open surgical repair with a transperitoneal approach. IMA was reconstructed with an end to end direct anastomosys. The etiology has not been determined. The patient underwent postoperative recovery without complications. The CTA performed after the surgical intervention showed the satisfactory result of the EWA reconstruction. A short upgrade IMA aneurysm literature review was made.