Endovascular treatment of tumor-induced axillary artery hemorrhage.

Hemorrhage caused by tumor invasion of the axillary artery is a rare, but serious complication. A 70-year-old female with a history of inflammatory breast cancer was diagnosed with hypovolemic shock caused by arterial bleeding into the left axilla. After successful reanimation an emergency arteriography was performed. The bleeding site was localized in the proximal part of the axillary artery. A self-expanding endoluminal graft was positioned across the lesion. The final angiography showed a correct placement of the stent with excellent distal flow, and no signs of bleeding. On the seventh day, the patient was discharged with ambulatory follow up.