Giant-cell Arteritis of the Ovarian Arteries: A Rare Manifestation of a Common Disease

We describe a 58-year-old woman presenting with headache and an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), who was diagnosed with and successfully treated for giant-cell arteritis (GCA). Seven months after the end of treatment, ovarian GCA was incidentally found after ovariectomy for a simple cyst. GCA of extracranial vessels like the ovarian arteries is rare. Nevertheless, we stress that extracranial GCA should be considered in patients older than 50 years with an elevated ESR, even if a temporal artery biopsy is negative or specific symptoms are absent. Moreover, we discuss the importance of imaging techniques when GCA of the extracranial large vessels is suspected. LEARNING POINTS: Although rare, ovarian arteries can be involved in giant-cell arteritis (GCA). Extracranial GCA should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients aged 50 years or older with an elevated ESR, even if temporal artery biopsy is negative or specific symptomatology of GCA is absent. If GCA is suspected but the origin is unclear, an MRA or PET-CT scan should be performed to screen for GCA of extracranial arteries.