Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0004153 (atherosclerosis)
 77,401 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Coral reef aorta (CRA) is a rare form of atherosclerosis that affects the paravisceral and pararenal aorta and its branches. Patients typically present with arterial insufficiency of the bowels, kidneys and lower extremities. The current mainstay of treatment is operative, typically involving transaortic endarterectomy. Herein, we describe a 54-year-old woman with incapacitating lower extremity claudication secondary to a paravisceral coral reef atheroma treated successfully with transaortic endarterectomy via a left retroperitoneal approach. In addition, we present a complete review of modern English literature on CRA.
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PMID:Coral reef aorta: case report and review of the literature. 2351 54

The Coral Reef Aorta is a rare phenomenon of extreme calcification in the juxtarenal and suprarenal aorta. The calcifications are often similar in appearance to growths of hyperplastic bone, though abnormalities in serum calcium are not found. [1] In contrast to the typical appearance of atherosclerosis of the great vessels, which follows the curve of the vessel wall, the calcifications of Coral Reef Aorta jut irregularly into the lumen. Consequences may include severe downstream ischemic and embolic events involving the viscera and the lower extremities, as well as endovascular operative complications. In this report we present a case of Coral Reef Aorta in a 73 year old man who experienced renal ischemia and surgical difficulties during attempted stent placement. We propose that preoperative review of vascular imaging with explicit attention to the presence of Coral Reef-like plaques can prevent intraoperative and postoperative morbidity. Furthermore, heightened awareness of the existence of these plaques on routine reads of abdominal CT or vascular imaging may prompt clinicians to enact early prophylaxis against later ischemic events.
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PMID:The Coral Reef Aorta: Diagnosis and Treatment Following CT. 2784 16