Atherosclerotic popliteal aneurysm

Abstract

(1) At most, only four or five patients are seen each year by a major vascular centre; (2) aortic aneurysms are found in 37 per cent and bilateral PAAs in 50 per cent of patients; (3) more than 95 per cent of patients are men with a mean age of 65 years and 45 per cent have hypertension; (4) approximately one-third of patients are asymptomatic at the time of initial diagnosis; (5) the risk of ischaemic complications after conservative follow-up varies from 8 to 100 per cent (mean 36 per cent), depending on the selection of patients and duration of follow-up; (6) elective surgical reconstruction is recommended for all asymptomatic aneurysms; (7) 5-year graft patency rates after surgical repair range from 29 to 100 per cent, with 5-year limb salvage ranging from 75 to 98 per cent; (8) patient survival rates at 5 and 10 years are 70 and 44 per cent respectively; (9) lifelong, careful patient surveillance is essential to detect and treat new aneurysms at other sites.

Management of popliteal aneurysm

“…As the aneurysm enlarges, mural thrombus develops 14 . Cited indications for elective repair include popliteal aneurysm greater than 2 cm in diameter, those containing thrombus, or where run-off is poor 3,15 . There is little evidence to support this.…”

Endovascular Repair of Popliteal Artery Aneurysms: Techniques, Current Evidence and Recent Experience

“…[2][3][4] Popliteal artery aneurysms (PAA) have a strong association with aneurysms at other sites, being bilateral in approximately half of cases and being associated with an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in one-third of the patients. 5 The disease affects mostly men (95-99% of cases [6][7][8] ) with a median age of 60-69 years. [6][7][8][9][10][11] Commonly associated morbidities include hypertension, diabetes, ischaemic heart disease and smoking.…”

Thrombosis of popliteal artery aneurysm with cutaneous microembolism of toes

“…4,6,7 Acute thrombosis of PAA can result in acute critical limb ischemia; while repeated thromboembolic events can cause chronic ischemia and is seen in 85% of asymptomatic PAA. 8,9 Patients may present with worsening claudication pain, rest-pain, ulceration or blue toe syndrome. A palpable mass may be felt in the popliteal fossa.…”