FIBROMUSCULAR DYSPLASIA CAUSING ATYPICAL COARCTATION OF THE THORACIC AORTA - HISTOLOGICAL PRESENTATION OF A CASE

The authors report a case of atypical coarctation of the thoracic aort a discovered by chance in a 37-year-old man, victim of a car accident. The angiogram revealed a ''string-of-beads'' contour in the coarctate area while the left subclavian artery presented a severe stenosis at its origin. Vascular checkup examination failed to identify any additi onal vascular anomaly. The patient underwent surgical resection, with a Dacron prosthetic bypass. Histological study of the specimen removed , showed a typical perimedial and extensive medial types of fibromuscu lar dysplasia (FMD) of the aorta. Pathogenesis of this disease is disc ussed.