Collateral miracle—reformation of iliac and femoral arteries by collaterals from bilateral subclavian arteries following contained rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysm in a hypertensive female

Abstract

Rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm is readily diagnosed when the triad of abdominal or back pain, shock and a pulsatile abdominal mass are present. However in a few cases, a chronic contained ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm can present in a multitude of manners rather than as life threatening haemorrhage. In our case we are reporting a 41 year old hypertensive female who developed claudication pain in both her lower limbs. Imaging later revealed that she had a contained ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, a thing she was previously unaware of, with collaterals from the bilateral subclavian arteries supplying her femorals. Keywords: Abdominal aortic aneurysm, Contained rupture, Collaterals