Fibromuscular Hyperplasia of the Left Axillary Artery

FIBROMUSCULAR hyperplasia of the renal artery was first reported by Leadbetter and Burkland¹ in 1938. Renovascular hypertension secondary to fibromuscular hyperplasia is now a well-established entity.² Recently the lesion has been identified in the internal carotid artery,³ the celiac and superior mesenteric arteries,⁴ and the external iliac arteries.⁵ This report is concerned with a patient with fibromuscular hyperplasia of the left axillary artery.

Report of Case  The patient is a 29-year-old man, who in October 1965 was admitted to another hospital for evaluation of claudication of the left arm associated with absence of the left brachial and radial pulses. In addition to pain, the patient gave a history of having a heavy, tired feeling associated with color change in the hand. A percutaneous subclavian arteriogram and an aortic arch study through a transfemoral route were performed and the entire subclavian artery was visualized and found