A giant popliteal artery aneurysm treated with exclusion and bypass using a saphenous vein

Abstract

While popliteal artery aneurysm is the most common form of peripheral artery aneurysm, it is a rare condition in the general population. Furthermore, a giant popliteal artery aneurysm has not previously been reported in Korea. A 67-year-old male presented with left thigh pain that had begun 4 months earlier and was aggravated when in a sitting position. We found a giant aneurysm on the left popliteal artery and performed a bypass from the common femoral artery to the distal popliteal artery below the knee, using the autologous greater saphenous vein, and excluded the aneurysm at the sites of anastomoses.

Keywords: Endovascular procedures; Peripheral vascular disease; Popliteal artery.

Fig. 1

(A, B) A computerized tomography angiography scan revealed a giant aneurysm (*) of the left popliteal artery and mild atherosclerotic aneurysmal change of the right popliteal artery (red arrows in B). (C) Since the aneurysm was too large and long (6×6 cm) to clamp the distal end of the aneurysm, (D) we performed a bypass from the common femoral artery to the distal popliteal artery below the knee, with the autologous greater saphenous vein. R, right; L, left; K, direction to the knee; SVG, saphenous vein graft; FA, femoral artery; SFA, superficial femoral artery.

Fig. 2

(A, B) An immediate follow-up computerized tomography angiography scan showed the patent vein graft and the completely thrombosed aneurysm. The red arrows indicate mild atherosclerotic aneurysmal change of the right popliteal artery. R, right; L, left; SVG, saphenous vein graft.