Vascular aneurysms in Behcet's disease

Background:  Vascular complications are fairly common in patients suffering from Behcet's disease. Peripheral arterial aneurysms affect nearly every artery in association with this disease. This report discusses the management of this complication in such patients. Patients and Methods:  Two young patients were referred to the Vascular Surgery Service, because of arterial aneurysms. Both patients were known to suffer from Behcet's disease and were on colchicine. Both had history of deep vein thrombosis and were on long-term anticoagulant therapy (warfarin). Case 1: A 38-year-old man presented with recurrent abdominal pains which prove to be due to a saccular abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) of 6 cm diameter. An elective open repair of the AAA with tube Dacron graft was performed. At 1 year follow up the patient remained free of symptoms. Case 2: A 42-year-old man presented with a neck swelling, which was confirmed by duplex scan and magnetic resonance angiography to be a saccular aneurysm of the left internal carotid artery. Surgical excision of the aneurysm was carried out and the artery repaired with a GORE-TEX patch. Results:  At 12–18 months follow up, both patients remained well and asymptomatic. Conclusions:  Patients suffering from Behcet's disease are liable to get arterial aneurysms. Surveillance by non-invasive studies ensures early diagnosis and management of these uncommon complications of the disease.