A 67-year-old Caucasian man was admitted with diffuse abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and 4 kg weight loss within a couple of weeks. He had a history of alcohol abuse but further medical history was negative. There was no significant abdominal tenderness, no abdominal palpable mass or flank-knocking tenderness. Laboratory studies showed mild anemia with a hemoglobin level of 10.0 g/dL. An abdominal ultrasound (US) scan showed a partially inverted flow in the portal vein with a small cirrhotic liver, ascites, and a small spleen. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) revealed a large pseudoaneurysm between the SMA and coeliac trunk with a diameter of 77 × 53 × 59 mm. Just below this pseudoaneurysm lay the pancreas with calcifications due to chronic pancreatitis. CT angiography revealed an arterioportal fistula between the pseudoaneurysm and portal vein. Due to this pseudoaneurysm, there was compression of the superior mesenteric vein. Ascites around the liver and spleen were seen, probably due to portal hypertension. There was an increase of the pseudoaneurysm diameter compared to the abdominal CT scan made 5 days earlier, with a maximal diameter of 81 mm (Fig. ). Digital angiography revealed a pseudoaneurysm arising from the proximal superior mesenteric artery with fistulization to the portal vein. The pseudoaneurysm was filled via a large defect in the top of the superior mesenteric artery (Fig. ).\nFrom a technical point of view, covered stenting of the SMA was preferred over embolization of the pseudoaneurysm. A 6 French LIMA sheath was placed in the superior mesenteric artery using a femoral approach. Next, a balloon-expandable covered stent (Bentley Begraft® diameter 8 mm, length 37 mm; Bentley, Hechingen, Germany) was deployed in the SMA. Control angiography showed refilling of the pseudoaneurysm via the common hepatic artery (CHA) through the right gastric and gastroduodenal arteries (Fig. ). Since there was no filling of the CHA from the coeliac trunk, it is probable that the CHA originated from the SMA as a normal variant and was separated from its origin, possibly due to the pancreatitis (Fig. ). After catheterization of the CHA via the left and then the right gastric artery, selective embolization was performed with a 2.7 Fr Progreat® microcatheter (Terumo Medical Corp., Somerset, NY, USA) using multiple Hilal microcoils (3, 4, and 5 mm wide and 3 and 6 cm long; Cook Medical, Bloomington, IN, USA), covering the origin of the GDA (Fig. ). The residual perfusion of the liver is only supplied by the right gastric artery from the left gastric artery.\nPostoperatively, the patient was given clopidogrel therapy for 6 weeks and lifelong acetylsalicylic acid.\nHe was discharged on the eighth postoperative day. Follow-up after 6 months revealed no recurrent abdominal symptoms. The pseudoaneurysm was no longer detectable on control CT angiography (Fig. ).
A 43-year-old female patient (para 9 with her last delivery two months prior) known hypertensive for 10 years presented to our department with gastrointestinal bleeding in the form of hematemesis, multiple episodes of melena, and hematochezia for one week. She also complained of weight loss and non-radiating and self-relieving epigastric pain not associated with positional changes. The patient was then assessed for causes of pseudoaneurysm formation, which primarily includes pancreatitis and cholecystitis. However, no significant abdominal tenderness, palpable abdominal mass, jaundice, flank tenderness, and increase in serum lipase and amylase were observed. The only significant findings included laboratory studies showing mild anemia with a hemoglobin of 9.6 g/dL, hematocrit of 29.5%, mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) of 26.7, and red blood cells of 3.6 × 10^12/L, for which she was transfused two units of blood and started on injectable Vitamin K (10 mg, once daily), injectable tranexamic acid (500 mg, TDS), and omeprazole infusion (40 mg, once daily). After two days, her hemoglobin levels of 12.4 g/d, hematocrit of 37.5%, MCH of 26.7, and red blood cells 4.64 × 10^12/L. Meanwhile, mesenteric CT angiography also showed multiple splanchnic pseudoaneurysms involving the celiac axis trifurcation, gastroduodenal artery, superior/inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery, and jejunoileal branch of the superior mesenteric artery, and a large partially thrombosed pseudoaneurysm arising from superior pancreaticoduodenal branch causing a significant mass effect on the second part of duodenum as seen in Figure .\nBased on such findings, coiling and embolization of the corresponding arteries were planed. Accordingly, the right common femoral artery was used as the access route with a retrograde 5-Fr catheter, which provided access to the celiac trunk and then into the gastroduodenal artery using a 4-Fr C2 and microcatheter. The large aneurysm in the gastroduodenal artery was identified and crossed. Multiple other small aneurysms with secondary aterio-venous malformations were also observed. The whole flow circuit (retrograde and anterograde) to the large aneurysm was packed with multiple coils, with the aneurysm sack also being coiled can be seen in Figure .\nThe second aneurysm in the pancreaticoduodenal artery was accessed after multiple attempts, showing multiple coils of variable sizes blocking the aneurysm sack and its retro- and anterograde flow evident from Figure .\nAs seen in Figure repeat angiography revealed good outcomes, with no retrograde or anterograde filling of aneurysm and immediate complications having been observed.\nPostoperative care included augmentin administration (1 mg, intravenous; two doses) with positional changes to prevent any hematoma formation. The patient was advised to keep her head tilted on 45-degree angle. She was observed for one more day for any hematoma formation or bleeding prior to discharge.