Inguinal anastomotic aneurysm due to salmonellosis treated with orthotopic reconstruction

Femoral anastomosis following either an aortofemoral or femoropopliteal bypass, is a common site for anastomotic aneurysms occurring with an incidence of 2% to 5%. Among the factors contributing to the pathogenesis of such aneurysms, graft infection should be considered as a major one. We report the case of a 74 years old woman with history of an aorto-femoral right and -iliac left bypass with a Dacron Y-prosthetic graft due to abdominal aneurysm. The patient presented with a painful, inflammatory, and pulsating mass in her right inguinal region. She was treated surgically with wide radical resection of infected tissues including the anastomotic aneurysm, and in situ bypass reconstruction using a Silver-Dacron graft. Cultures of inflamed wound tissue, graft, and stools were positive for Salmonella typhimurium. In the postoperative period the patient was submitted to subtotal colectomy due to colon cancer and later to an iliofemoral crossover-bypass from right to left due to acute ischaemia of the left limb. Her postoperative follow up has been insignificant. Infected femoral anastomotic aneurysms due to salmonellosis are a rarity. Although their treatment of choice consist in an extra-anatomic bypass, under specific conditions in situ reconstruction may be adopted as a feasible and effective surgical technique to treat these infected aneurysms.