Objective: To report a case of an external iliac - common femoral vein
aneurysm and review the literature on the subject. Design: Case repor
t. Setting: Academic Vascular Surgery and Radiology Units, St Mary's H
ospital, London, UK. Patients, Interventions and Results: The aneurysm
occurred in a 34-year-old woman and was diagnosed with venography, du
plex scanning and magnetic resonance venography. It underwent acute th
rombosis and, as the thrombus was well organized and extensive, thromb
ectomy was not possible, The patient was treated with standard heparin
followed by oral anticoagulants for 5 months. Thirty months after the
operation the right calf remains swollen but soft and non-tender and
the patient is currently treated with grade II full-length compression
stockings. Since there were no findings of vein compression or malign
ancy it seems that the formation of the aneurysm resulted from a conge
nital weakness of the venous wall. Conclusions: The most common presen
tation of these aneurysms is of a mass of the abdomen or the iliac fos
sa, while thromboembolism is not uncommon. The main causes are arterio
venous (AV) fistula formation and congenital weakness of the vein wall
. For the first the preferred treatment is AV fistula ligation while f
or the rest ligation with or without vein reconstruction has been succ
essfully used.