A case of IgG4-related retroperitoneal fibrosis with significant involvement of the abdominal aorta-a clinical and diagnostic challenge.

Immunoglobulin (Ig)G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) with retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF) is a rare, fibroinflammatory disease involving the soft tissues of the retroperitoneum. A 73-year-old man with IgG4-related RPF affecting the abdominal aorta and iliac arteries was treated with steroids and mycophenolate mofetil. The prevalence of the disease remains unknown because it is often misdiagnosed and can mimic many malignant, infectious, and inflammatory conditions.

Midterm outcomes of thoracic aortic stent-grafts: complications and imaging techniques.

Purpose: To evaluate the midterm outcomes of thoracic aortic stent-grafting and the performance of computed tomographic angiography (CTA), radiography, and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) in endograft surveillance.

Methods: Forty-seven patients with traumatic thoracic aortic ruptures (n=16), aneurysms (n=14), false aneurysms (n=3), penetrating ulcers (n=3), and dissections (n=11) treated with stent-grafts were monitored in follow-up using chest radiography and CTA in all patients and MRA in 23 patients. Two perpendicular maximal aortic diameters, the sum of these diameters, and the elliptical cross-sectional area were determined and compared to baseline for the entire group and in subgroup analyses according to lesion type.

Stent-graft treatment of penetrating thoracic aortic ulcers.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of stent-graft placement for the treatment of penetrating thoracic aortic ulcers.

Methods: Ten patients (7 men; mean age 73.8 years, range 69-79) were treated for penetrating thoracic aortic ulcers using Talent or Excluder stent-grafts.