Background: Spontaneous rupture of an ovarian artery aneurysm is an extremely rare and usually life-threatening event, most often associated with pregnancy.
Case: A 46-year-old woman presented to the emergency room with left lower abdominal pain and cold sweating. Contrast-enhanced dynamic computed tomography (CT) showed a left retroperitoneal hematoma with extravasation of contrast medium. Reconstructed images of a spiral CT disclosed a leaking left ovarian artery aneurysm. An exploratory laparotomy with ligation of the aneurysm and evacuation of the hematoma was performed.
Conclusion: This is the third case of ruptured ovarian artery aneurysm not related to pregnancy and the first reported case related to blood pressure. A review of the literature and practical considerations on this rare condition are presented.
Copyright 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.