Superficial temporal artery pseudoaneurysm: Report of two cases and review

Abstract

Superficial temporal artery pseudoaneurysm is a rare complication of arterial injury developing on the forehead following blunt trauma. There is little written on this entity in the dermatopathology literature. We describe two cases of superficial temporal artery pseudoaneurysm in two men aged 53 and 25 years, one of whom had a recent history of head trauma. This report reviews the classic histopathologic findings of STA pseudoaneurysm and highlights ways to distinguish it from other entities in the differential diagnosis.

Spontaneous pseudoaneurysm of the superficial temporal artery in neurofibromatosis type 1: illustrative case

“…Very rarely, the patient cannot recall any predisposing traumatic event. 10 The differential diagnosis of a temporal artery pseudoaneurysm includes true aneurysm, 11 sebaceous cyst, lipoma, lymphadenopathy, arteriovenous fistula, hematoma, or abscess.…”

“…This may also explain why NF1 patients have a more acute clinical course than reported traumatic cases (usually 2 to 6 weeks if traumatic events were identified). 10 Also, most cases of pseudoaneurysm of the STA were reported to be nontender, probably because of their small sizes (approximately 1 cm). In contrast, our patient came to medical attention mainly because of severe headache, which was likely due to mass effect from the large pseudoaneurysm bulk.…”