Ruptured inferior mesenteric artery aneurysm in a patient with a type 1 neurofibromatosis

We describe the case of a 61-year-old woman having a type 1 neurofibromatosis (von Recklinghausen disease), whose acute abdominal pain revealed a voluminous retroperitoneal hemorrhage caused by a 25-mm ruptured inferior mesenteric artery aneurysm. She underwent emergent aneurysm and left colonic resection. This report of a rare digestive artery aneurysm rupture, which added to increasing reports of vascular abnormalities in type 1 neurofibromatosis patients, underlines the need to maintain a high suspicion index of a vascular etiology in case of any abdominal complaint in these patients.