Abdominal Aortic Disease: A Multicase Review

Abdominal aortic disease affects more than 3 million people per year. For vascular sonographers, imaging aortic disease can become routine. Therefore, it is necessary to expand the knowledge that we have of aortic disease, diagnosis, and treatment. We present 4 cases with new or worsening conditions diagnosed by duplex ultrasound (DUS). Our first case is a 79-year-old woman returning for surveillance of an endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). The DUS findings reveal an increasing abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) sac, with evidence of flow originating from an incomplete seal at the attachment suggesting type I endoleak. Next, is a 56-year-old man returning 1 month after type A dissection repair, now presenting with unilateral claudication. The DUS findings of the left lower extremity demonstrated an early systolic deceleration waveform, suggesting more proximal disease. Upon further imaging, an abdominal aortic dissection was identified terminating into the left internal iliac artery, causing the true lumen...