SAGE Open Medical Case Reports

Infective native abdominal aortic aneurysms are a life-threatening condition with a high mortality rate. We report the case of a 53-year-old male patient who presented with abdominal pain and fever. Laboratory results showed an elevated white blood cell count and C-reactive protein levels. Blood cultures detected Salmonella species, and computed tomography revealed a saccular abdominal aortic aneurysm. After 14 days of preoperative antibiotic therapy, the patient underwent a successful surgical bypass from the descending thoracic aorta, through the diaphragm and muscle layers of the anterior abdominal wall, to the bilateral common femoral arteries. The patient was discharged after 30 days of hospitalization and continued antibiotic treatment for another 30 days. Follow-up clinical evaluations and imaging studies showed good recovery and no signs of infection. This case highlights the importance of combining appropriate antibiotic therapy with surgical intervention in managing infective native aortic aneurysms. In particular, an extra-anatomical approach from the descending aorta can be a viable option in selected cases of infected aortic aneurysms, providing an effective means to achieve thorough debridement and prevent future graft infections.

The purpose of this manuscript is to report a case of symptomatic breast cancer metastasis to the pituitary gland, a described yet exceedingly rare phenomenon. A 52-year-old woman with a known history of stage-IV breast cancer treated 3 years prior with chemotherapy presented to the emergency department with 2 weeks of right-sided periorbital headache and 1 week of right-sided ptosis. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a 1.9 cm × 2.8 cm × 2.8 cm mass in the pituitary with mass effect on the right optic chiasm. Endocrine laboratory studies were largely normal, including prolactin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, insulin-like growth factor, and a minimally decreased cortisol. She underwent endoscopic transnasal transsphenoidal resection 4 days later to remove the mass without complication. Postoperative pathologic studies were positive for breast cancer metastasis, and she was subsequently started on adjuvant radiation and oral chemotherapy. While breast cancer metastases to the sella have been described in the literature before, symptomatic spread to the pituitary represents a small percentage of all breast cancer metastases, and we thus feel is worthy of further discussion.

Foreign body esophagus remains one of the common medical emergencies which may lead to significant morbidity and mortality. Sharp objects, batteries, and elderly with foreign body esophagus should be treated with emergent removal owing to the complications that might ensue. Endoscopic removal is the preferred choice of treatment but for large foreign body, sharp foreign body, and so on, rigid esophagoscopic removal might be more preferable. Foreign body esophagus though an obvious situation might at times be missed. It is important to make an early definitive diagnosis. We report a unique case of missed foreign body (denture) esophagus despite the obvious signs and symptoms. Definitive diagnosis was made only after 6 years due to the lack of definitive diagnostic procedures and expertise. The foreign body was impacted in the mucosal wall of the esophagus requiring Gastric resection and anastomosis (with McKeown procedure). With this we have tried to highlight the pitfalls in the diagnosis and management of foreign body esophagus. We report a case of a 55-year-old female who presented to the Emergency Room with history of progressive dysphagia and odynophagia for 6 years which was aggravated for the past 6 months. A radiological diagnosis was made. It was followed by a failed attempt of endoscopic removal which warranted the surgical removal of the foreign body.