An ascending aortic aneurysm caused by giant cell arteritis: Report of a case

A 69-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for investigation of an ab normality detected by a chest roentgenogram, and was subsequently found to have an ascending aortic aneurysm. She had not suffered any symptoms such a s headache or polymyalgia rheumatica, Aneurysmectomy and reconstruction of the ascending aorta was performed using cardiopulmonary bypass, and patholo gical examination of the aneurysmal wall revealed giant cell arteritis (GCA ). Preoperatively, she had not suffered any temporal pain, and no signs of inflammation were detected serologically. GCA is a rare cause of aortic ane urysm in the Japanese population, and a brief review of the literature on t his unusual entity is presented following this case report.