Aneurysm and dissection in a patient with syphilitic aortitis.

In the antibiotic era, aortic aneurysm is a rare complication of syphilis, what makes the diagnostic assumption even more difficult. Nonetheless, this condition should be suspected in patients with aortic aneurysm. Reports of aortic dissection complicating syphilitic aortitis have been distinctly rare in the literature, and their cause-effect relationship has not been definitely established. In this case report, we present a 62-year-old woman with aortic aneurysm and dissection associated with an unexpected diagnosis of syphilitic aortitis.