abstract
- True isolated traumatic aneurysms are very rarely observed, and have to be differentiated from false aneurysms. They correspond to unrecognized arterial contusions following closed shoulder injuries. The presence of a large hematoma in the axillohumeral region, associated with an early ecchymosis, should suggest the possibility of an arterial lesion, and arteriography should be conducted. Difficulty in diagnosing the lesion clinically arises from the particular location of such lesions and the richness of the brachial and axillary artery collaterals. This latter fact explains why an ischemic syndrome is rarely observed. Treatment of true traumatic aneurysms is always surgical.