Thrombosed Antebrachial Venous Aneurysm with Severe Forearm Pain Mimicking C6 Radiculopathy: Case Report

A venous aneurysm of the extremities is rare, and it is usually not diagnosed until the time of surgery. It is easily misdiagnosed as other subcutaneous masses. It is mostly located in the lower extremities. Compression of the peripheral nerves by a venous aneurysm is not common. We treated a case of a thrombosed fusiform venous aneurysm of the median antebrachial vein with a duplex study revealing a cystic lesion. It presented as severe forearm pain mimicking C6 radiculopathy caused by C56 and 67 spondylosis. A histological examination showed sclerotic thickening and cystic dilation of the vein with an organized thrombus. A venous aneurysm with thrombosis is a possible source of an embolism which could potentially be fatal. An upper-limb venous aneurysm should be included as a differential diagnosis for cervical radiculopathy.