[Arterial complications of Behcet's disease. Report of 13 cases].

Vascular involvement, usually venous thrombosis, is common in Behçet's disease. Arterial manifestations, usually aneurysms or more rarely occlusion, are less common. We analyzed 13 cases of Behçet's disease with arterial complications. This fourth series in the literature was collected over 11 years. There were 12 men and 1 woman, mean age 41 +/- 7 years. Mean delay to arterial complications was 5.8 years (maximum 20 years) after the first sign of the disease. In the 13 patients in our series, there were a total of 18 arterial lesions, including one aneurysm and one stenosis of the internal carotid artery. There were 2 cases (10%) with lesions of the aorta (aneurysms). Approximately half of the arterial lesions (7/18) involved the femoral artery. There were 11 localizations on the femoropopliteal axis (11 aneurysms). One aneurysm of the humeral artery was the only localization in the upper limb. Vascular involvement was limited to arterial lesions in 9/13 patients with multiple lesions at different localizations in 2 patients. In two others, a second arterial localization occurred secondarily. All patients except one were operated. Mid-term complications are: 1 death and 4 thrombi including 3 with good results after reoperation. In these patients with Behçet's disease, risk of severe complications is important, requiring long-term surveillance.