Bilateral Superficial Temporal Artery Aneurysms

Abstract

Aneurysms of the superficial temporal artery are rare and most often traumatic in origin. In this case study we present an extremely rare occurrence of bilateral nontraumatic superficial temporal artery aneurysms. Spontaneous bilateral superficial temporal artery aneurysms have not been previously reported. The patient was a 49-year-old woman who presented to our outpatient vascular lab with pulsating masses noted over bilateral temporal regions. Duplex ultrasound revealed a 2.3 mm right and 4.5 mm left temporal artery aneurysm. The aneurysms were subsequently resected and the patient recovered without incident. Non-invasive duplex ultrasound is an effective method in identifying these rare aneurysms. A literature search revealed few published cases of non-traumatic STAs and of these cases none involved bilateral vessels.