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This report describes the use of an endoluminally placed stented graft to repair a large (2.6 by 2.6 by 15 cm) popliteal aneurysm in a 63-year-old man with advanced heart disease. Two balloon-expandable stents were attached to a 6 mm polytetrafluoroethylene graft, which was inserted with the patient receiving local anesthetic through a proximal superficial femoral artery arteriotomy. Repeat arteriography and duplex ultrasonography performed up to 3 months after the procedure documented graft and distal artery patency and complete aneurysmal exclusion without distal emboli. This experience demonstrates technical feasibility and early graft patency. However, additional experience and follow-up will be needed to assess the value of this minimally invasive procedure in the management of popliteal aneurysmal disease.

This case report describes a new approach to repair a femoral arteriovenous fistula with a transluminally placed intraarterial graft-covered stent. A balloon-expandable stented polytetrafluoroethylene graft was inserted percutaneously to obliterate an arteriovenous fistula after a bullet injured the left superficial femoral artery and vein of an 18-year-old man. Follow-up duplex ultrasonography at 5 months demonstrated patency and luminal integrity of the involved artery and vein, with resolution of the associated pseudoaneurysm. Additional follow-up will be needed to further substantiate the utility of this minimally invasive procedure in the treatment of traumatic arterial injuries.

This study evaluated the feasibility of treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) by means of intraluminal bypass. Artificial aortic aneurysms with fusiform Dacron conduits were created at surgery , a weft-knit Dacron tube with balloon-expandable stents attached at both ends was inserted transfemorally through a 14-F introducer sheath and expanded at the aneurysmal level by means of inflation of a coaxial balloon. The transluminal bypass successfully excluded the aneurysmal lumen immediately after placement. In two dogs, a postplacement aortogram revealed torsion of the graft that caused early occlusion. The six other dogs had a patent bypass at 6 months follow-up. Four of these dogs had evidence of kinking of the graft as a result of shrinkage of the prosthetic aneurysm. Histopathologic studies revealed that endothelialization was complete on the stents and partial on the graft surface. It is concluded that transluminal bypass of AAA is feasible in the dog model.

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