[Spontaneous dissection of visceral arteries. A series of cases]

Spontaneous dissections of visceral arteries are rare and usually secondary to other disease. There is paucity of information about their natural course.

To describe the imaging, clinical characteristics and follow-up of spontaneous visceral artery dissections diagnosed at our institution.

We report a series of 14 patients in whom a spontaneous dissection of a visceral artery was diagnosed on abdominal angio-CT between 2010 and 2018. Clinical features and evolution were recorded.

Isolated lesions of the celiac axis were the most common finding. Multiple territories were involved in 14% of cases. A dissection flap was observed in four cases, a hematoma-dissection complex in seven and an aneurysmal dilatation associated with the dissection in three. Of the 10 patients who were followed at our institution, 90% had stabilization or partial regression of the imaging findings. In the remaining case, new dissection events were observed. All cases were managed conservatively, and no death was reported.

In this series of patients, spontaneous dissection of visceral arteries had a benign, favorable course, requiring only conservative management.