Nonoperative treatment for a ruptured pseudoaneurysm of the celiac trunk: report of a case.

We report the case of a 67-year-old man in whom hemorrhage from a ruptured celiac trunk pseudoaneurysm, which occurred as a consequence of leakage at the site of gastroduodenostomy, was successfully controlled by transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) with stainless steel coils and N-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA). The occurrence of a pseudoaneurysm of the celiac trunk associated with anastomotic leakage is etiologically rare. We compiled reports from the literature on TAE for ruptured aneurysms of the celiac trunk, and compared its therapeutic value with that of surgical treatment. Operative death occurred in 4 of a series of 43 patients with aneurysms of the celiac trunk that were surgically treated (9.3%). In 5 patients with ruptured aneurysms, the operative mortality rate was 40% (2/5). Conversely, while the unsuccessful rate of TAE therapy was 17% (1/6), the mortality rate was nil. The patient whose case is presented here was affected by methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) at the site of leakage and in the lung. Under septic conditions such as hemorrhage secondary to pancreatitis, the mortality rate of surgical therapy was 23%-29%, whereas the success rate of TAE therapy was 79% and the mortality rate was 4%. Based on these findings, it is suggested that TAE therapy is a viable alternative to surgery for patients even with ruptured pseudoaneurysms of the celiac trunk.