The lack of type III collagen in a patient with aneurysms and an aortic dissection

We analyzed 79 consecutive patients with aneurysms and found a patient who lacked type III collagen. Collagen was extracted from the skin, and the lack of type III collagen was determined by means of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Only 1 of the 79 patients was found to lack type III collagen. This patient was a 55-year-old man who had sustained an abdominal aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection. He did not show any of the typical clinical symptoms of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV, such as hyperextensible skin and joints. He had none of the usual risk factors nor any clear family history of the syndrome. Furthermore, his collagen fibrils demonstrated a homogeneous appearance. This case may represent a new form of type III collagen deficiency. (J Vasc Surg 1998;28:1104-6.)