Arterial complications of Behcet's disease, involving forty-seven patients

Arterial involvement during Behcet's disease is rare but it's certainly underestimated (autopsie works of Lakhampal). Our series of 47 patients represents as far as we know the biggest surgical series published till this day among with the series of 41 cases of Shimuzu and 25 cases of Le Thi Huong. The mean age of arterial lesions is 31.7 years with an obvious masculine predominance. The femoral location is the most frequent (22 cases) mainly aneurysms, our series is distinguished by 5 case report of aneurysms of the carotid artery and 1 case report of an aneurysm of the superior mesenteric artery. Arterial involvement is more often multiple (57 arteries in 47 patients). The excessive rate of postoperative thrombosis must reduce the surgical indications in presence of arterial stenosis, however aneurysms are a surgical emergency as their rupture is a rule. Any inflammatory like aneurysm occurring in a young adult from the mediterranean region and without any cardiac context should always be considered as a Behcet's disease. Medical treatment associating corticosteroids and immuno-suppressives should be given in postoperative to prevent recurrence.