Aneurysm and dissection in a patient with syphilitic aortitis

Abstract

In the antibiotic era, aortic aneurysm is a rare complication of syphilis, what makes the diag-nostic assumption even more difficult. Nonetheless, this condition should be suspected inpatients with aortic aneurysm. Reports of aortic dissection complicating syphilitic aorti-tis have been distinctly rare in the literature, and their cause-effect relationship has notbeen definitely established. In this case report, we present a 62-year-old woman with aorticaneurysm and dissection associated with an unexpected diagnosis of syphilitic aortitis.