A Case of Venous Aneurysm in the Upper Extremity

Abstract

Venous aneurysms have been noted in the central vein, visceral vein and extremities. Venous aneurysms in the upper extremity are rare. We report herein a case of venous aneurysm in the upper extremity. 72-year-old man presented to our hospital with painful focal mass in the left upper extremity. The patient had noticed a mass 10 years ago. There were dilatated cephalic vein with the symptoms of induration, rubor, calor, dolor at the left upper arm. Ultrasonography showed thrombus in the fusiform dilated cephalic vein. We started anticoagulant therapy by warfarin with a diagnosis of the venous aneurysm with thrombus at the upper extremity. Three months later, inflammatory findings improved and almost all thrombus disappeared. Venous aneurysm was resected under the local anesthesia in order to prevent a recurrence of the thrombus. Venous aneurysms at the superficial veins are usually observed because pulmonary emboli are less risky. However, surgical treatment should be examined depending on the case because there is a possibility of thrombus arising in the superficial venous aneurysm such as our case.