Portal vein aneurysm: a rare occurrence.

Portal vein aneurysms (PVA) are a rare vascular anomaly of the portal system, representing fewer than 3% of all venous aneurysms, with only 150 known cases since first reported in l956 by Barzilai and Kleckner. PVA can be divided into 2 categories: extrahepatic and intrahepatic with acquired and congenital etiologies. Bimodal treatment includes medical and surgical approaches. With increased use of noninvasive radiological imaging, PVA will be increasingly recognized in the practice of vascular surgery.