Left inferior phrenic arterial malformation mimicking gastric varices: A case report and review of literature

BACKGROUND Gastric submucosal arterial dilation resulting from splenic artery occlusion represents an exceedingly rare etiology of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding(UGIB).Although endoscopy is a widely utilized diagnostic and therapeutic modality for gastrointestinal bleeding,it has limitations in detecting arterial abnormalities.CASE SUMMARY This report presents a rare case of massive UGIB in a 57-year-old male with a tortuous left inferior phrenic artery accompanied by splenic artery occlusion.“Gastric varices”was identified during the patient's endoscopy one year before hemorrhage.Despite initial hemostasis by endoscopic clipping,the patient experienced massive rebleeding after one month,requiring intervention with transcatheter arterial embolization(TAE)to achieve hemostasis.CONCLUSION This is the first case to report UGIB due to a tortuous left inferior phrenic artery.This case highlights the limitations of endoscopy in identifying arterial abnormalities and emphasizes the potential of TAE as a viable alternative for the management of arterial bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract.

Recurrent hemoptysis in pediatric bronchial Dieulafoy’s disease with inferior phrenic artery supply:A case report

BACKGROUND Bronchial Dieulafoy’s disease(BDD)is characterized by the erosion of an anomalous artery in the submucosa of the bronchus.The etiology of pediatric BDD is mainly congenital dysplasia of bronchus and pulmonary arteries,which is different from chronic inflammatory injury of the airway in adult patients.The internal thoracic artery,subclavian artery,and intercostal artery are known to be involved in the blood supply to the BDD lesion in children.CASE SUMMARY We report a case of BDD in a 4-year-old boy with recurrent hemoptysis for one year.Selective angiography showed a dilated right bronchial artery,and anastomosis of its branches with the right lower pulmonary vascular network.Bronchoscopy showed nodular protrusion of the bronchial mucosa with a local scar.Selective embolization of the bronchial artery was performed to stop bleeding.One month after the first intervention,the symptoms of hemoptysis recurred.A computed tomography angiogram(CTA)showed another tortuous and dilated feeding artery in the right lower lung,which was an abnormal ascending branch of the inferior phrenic artery(IPA).The results of angiography were consistent with the CTA findings.The IPA was found to be another main supplying artery,which was not considered during the first intervention.Finally,the IPA was also treated by microsphere embolization combined with coil interventional closure.During the one-year follow-up,the patient never experienced hemoptysis.CONCLUSION The supplying arteries of the bleeding lesion in children with BDD may originate from multiple different aortopulmonary collateral arteries,and the IPA should be considered to reduce missed diagnosis.CTA is a noninvasive radiological examination for the screening of suspected vessels,which shows a high coincidence with angiography,and can serve as the first choice for the diagnosis of BDD.

Left epigastric isolated tumor fed by the inferior phrenic artery diagnosed as ectopic hepatocellular carcinoma:A case report

BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is one of the most frequent cancers and the main cause of cancer-related death worldwide.Ectopic HCC,an extremely rare type of HCC,exhibits a wide range of clinical signs and radiographic features,making preoperative identification challenging.CASE SUMMARY A 47-year-old man underwent routine abdominal color ultrasonography,which identified an asymptomatic tumor in the left upper abdomen.The patient had no history of hepatitis,did not drink alcohol,and had no family history of cancer.Abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography(CT)revealed a heterogeneously enhanced lesion between the spleen and stomach that had invaded the diaphragm,with blood supplied by the left inferior phrenic artery.The patient underwent laparoscopic surgery,and HCC was identified by postoperative pathology.Additionally,specific immunohistochemical staining was performed to assess the molecular biological characteristics of the HCC.The patient underwent two rounds of hepatic arterial interventional chemotherapy after surgery.Abdominal plain and enhanced magnetic resonance imaging and lung CT 3 mo postoperatively revealed no signs of local recurrence or distant metastasis.CONCLUSION This asymptomatic ectopic HCC case described achieved an excellent result due to early detection,radical resection,and systematic surveillance.

Common trunk of the right accessory renal artery and right inferior phrenic artery originating from the thoracic artery:An unreported variation

Accessory renal arteries(ARAs)are common and usually originate from the abdominal aorta and the renal artery.Inferior phrenic arteries(IPAs)can also arise from the abdominal aorta or its branches.In this paper,we present the first case of a common trunk of the right ARA and right IPA arising from the thoracic artery at the level of T10,which was discovered by multidetector-row computed tomography in pretherapeutic evaluation and clearly confirmed by selective angiography.It is important to recognize this anatomical variation when performing cardiovascular and interventional radiological procedures.

Supplementary inferior phrenic artery embolization in the interventional treatment of hemoptysis

Background Transcatheter bronchial artery embolization （BAE） is widely used for the treatment of hemoptysis and the immediate success rate is high, but there are still some hemorrhage recurrences. One of the common reasons for failure of BAE is collateral branches as blood supply. The inferior phrenic artery （IPA） is one of the most common collateral branches that is scarcely reported. Our purpose was to observe manifestations of IPA supplying to hemoptysis and evaluate the efficacy and safety of IPA embolization. Methods Angiography during interventional treatment of 178 hemoptysis patients in the past 7 years confirmed that IPA hemorrhage resulted in hemoptysis in 25 patients （26-67 years old） who had： lung cancer （11 patients）, bronchiectasis （11 patients）, chronic lung inflammation （2 patients）, and pulmonary tuberculosis （1 patient）. Among the 25 patients, 7 patients had twice interventional operations within one week and 6 patients still experienced intraoperative hemoptysis after conventional embolization of the bronchial artery, the internal thoracic artery, and the intercostal artery, then had the second interventional operation immediately. The total number of cases were 191. Selective embolization of the IPA was performed using polyvinyl alcohol microspheres, gelatin sponge particles, and microcoil. The safety and clinical significance of IPA embolization were evaluated. The Pearson X2 test and Fisher＇s exact probability test were used in this study. Results Selective IPA angiography showed increased diameter of the IPA, disorganization of the branches, and varying degrees of angiogenesis. In 11 cases, contrast material was seen in vessels supplying the tumor and in the tumor. In 9 cases, contrast material had leaked into the area supplied by the IPA; in 8 cases, non-specific flake-like deposits of contrast material were seen; and in 14 cases, abnormal communication or shunt was visualized. Lesions were closely related to the pleura in 25 patients. Fifteen lesions were close to the diaphragmatic pleura, seven close to the mediastinal pleura, and three close to the lateral pleura of the lower lung. Eleven cases had inferior thoracic pleural thickening and adhesions. The IPA was embolized in 25 cases, and the success rate of hemostasis was 100%. The IPA was not embolized in the other 166 cases, and the success rate of hemostasis was 92.17 %. In the 25 cases with IPA embolization, the involvement of the IPA in the blood supply of the hemoptysis was correlated with the duration of the disease （P=0.0344）. The involvement of IPA in the blood supply of the hemoptysis was not correlated with the characteristic of the lung lesions （benign or malignant） （P=1.0000）. Duration of follow-up was 8 months to 5 years. Hemoptysis recurred in four patients 1,2, 3, and 6 months after interventional operation, respectively, and was controlled by conservative treatment. Twenty-one patients had no recurrence of hemoptysis. Conclusions Bleeding from the IPA can result in hemoptysis and failure of BAE in the treatment of hemoptysis. If IPA hemorrhage contributes to hemoptysis, supplementary IPA embolization may be a safe and effective treatment.