Celiac Artery Aneurysm: Anyone else with same illness?

Mayo is my second opinion. I have several more appointments to hopefully narrow down what may be causing these issues. Mayo thinks surgery may not be necessary as of right now. But they are not the ones living with the pain. Will be waiting to see what the other visits point to. Thanks for the info on vasculitis.

Thank you for the added information, @dan1230. Did Mayo not recommend surgery because of the size of the aneurysm?

That is correct.

No, the Stress Test showed I was fine even though I still have problems. Not sure what is next but digestive issues have come back to haunt me. Still having breathing issues but moving more. There not going to do anything about my Artery Problem till it gets bigger since it seems stable.

Apologies for not making it all the way through the postings... work getting in the way.

I was one of the apparent vast majority that was asymptomatic and the CAA was discovered while being scanned for something else. I had a concussion and my vitals were weird. When the head scan was negative, the trauma center did a full body scan, and found the CAA.

When I saw the vascular surgeon, weeks later, he (mis) read the follow-up scan and said we could do surgery or wait. When the radiologist's report came back, he measured it at 2.9x2.1x2.1... so suddenly I have two risk factors -- the size, and growth since the measurement at the ER.

I recall that the Texas Heart Institute did one of the circa-2001 studies and did a lot of surgeries. The author still works there, so I am going to try to reach him he can point to more recent studies, or anything else.

So, attached are 2 studies, one from 2002, one from 2022. In short, in 2002, they suggest surgery most of the time. In 2022, they are more inclined to wait and watch, based on size and if there is any growth. But the 2022 is suspect, to me, because they did not follow the patients very long AND they report NO ruptures -- when we know from earlier studies that while rare, there have been ruptures and mortality when ruptured is 40+ percent.

You can find the studies I did by using scholar.Google.com and inputting "celiac artery aneurysm." But they are mostly the same...

-- it is a very rare condition, though they are being reported more because they are found incidentally because of imaging for other purposes.
-- depending on they study, they frequently are watched if 2.0 or 2.5 cm or smaller -- unless they are growing.

I was leaning toward surgery because the consequences of rupture involved high mortality... and I am sure that is not just because of the bleeding, but because in an emergency a surgeon who has actually done CAA repair might not be available.

So... right now I am looking for a vascular surgeon who has done more than a couple CAA repairs. I will share when I do.

Good thoughts to all...

Hello I have the same thing I've not had surgery yet it causes pain but I'm kind of afraid to have it done I've had a lot of surgeries hope yours went well

Hello @tompatrickmic and welcome. I'm glad you shared in the discussion group on Celiac Artery Aneurysm. You said that you have the same thing.

If you are comfortable doing so, could you share a little about your journey with this aneurysm? For example, how long ago was it diagnosed? You mentioned that you have pain, could you talk a little about when you have the pain and the level of discomfort? Is your doctor recommending surgery at this time or just a wait-see approach?

Hello, I'm new here today. This week I was diagnosed with Focal dissection of the celiac trunk with associated aneurysmal dilation measuring up to 1.5cm. It was discovered inadvertently with a CT scan I was given to look at my appendix. While we're not sure if it's related to this diagnosis, I've suffered with constant painful bloating/gas since around 2005 and have been to many doctors and specialists to no avail. My new primary care doctor believes it is related, but can't be 100%. I'll be 49 in November.

I'm hoping to find the vascular surgeons at Mayo, or otherwise, who have experience with this exact surgery so my doctor can arrange an appointment. I'm in the Denver area, but my doctor suggested Mayo would be a great place to locate an experienced vascular surgeon for this particular situation.

Thank you and I wish the very best to all of you in this group. I've spent the last few days reading through the comments and they've been a comfort to me.

Jason

I was just diagnosed with this today, however I have not had any symptoms whatsoever. I went I for a completely different reason. Unsure on my next step, besides a referral.