When size does not matter: a rare case of popliteal artery aneurysm presenting with foot drop and its endovascular management

Abstract

Popliteal artery aneurysms (PAA) are the commonest arterial aneurysm of the periphery. It is defined as focal dilation more than 50% of the normal vessel diameter, which usually varies between 7 and 11 mm. The most common presentation for PAA is claudication due to luminal stenosis caused by mural thrombus or acute limb ischaemia due to thromboembolism. It is much less common for patients to present with mass effect symptoms due to compression of adjacent structures, and of these, common peroneal nerve compression is particularly uncommon. We present a rare case of a 92-year-old female presenting with 4-month history of left foot drop with radiological evidence of common peroneal nerve compression secondary to PAA measuring 22 × 21 mm in size. To the best of our knowledge, this is the smallest reported popliteal aneurysm presenting with foot drop. We also present the endovascular treatment option used.

Successful surgical management of a ruptured popliteal artery aneurysm with acute common peroneal nerve neuropathy: A rare case

“…2 , 5 PAAs tend to be asymptomatic and may thus provide diagnostic challenges; this entity can be misdiagnosed as Baker’s cyst in some cases, which may result in delayed diagnosis until the aneurysm is sufficiently large or cause compressive symptoms due to the mass effect of aneurysm. 4 Nerve injuries may occur when PAAs rupture into the popliteal space, which will compress the adjacent nerves, such as common peroneal or tibial nerve. Neuropathy has a high incidence in rPAA, which has been demonstrated in some studies.…”