Endovascular treatment of a chronic contained ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm.

We report a 69-year-old Caucasian male who presented with irreversible ischemia to the left foot. CT-scan showed, besides occlusion of both superficial femoral arteries, a chronic contained rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The aneurysm was excluded with a stent graft placed through a femoral approach in a semi-urgent procedure. CT-scans at 1, 3 and 6 months demonstrated continued exclusion of the aneurysm. Chronic ruptures are a rare but important subset of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. CT-scan with contrast enhancement is the gold standard diagnosing technique. Treatment consists of prompt surgical intervention with endovascular repair being increasingly used as an alternative to an open surgical approach.