Abstract
Cystic adventitial degeneration of the popliteal artery is a rare cause of lower extremity occlusive disease. In this disease, a cystoma which originates in the adventitia compresses the popliteal artery. This disease mainly affects relatively young men who have not experienced trauma in the lower extremities are mainly affected by this disease. We encountered a case of cystic adventitial degeneration of the popliteal artery which spontaneously remitted. The patient was a 41-year-old man who complained of intermittent exertional claudication but with no history of trauma in his lower extremities. On his first visit to our outpatient clinic, computed tomography (CT) showed a homogenous scimitar-shaped cystic lesion of 19 mm in width and 48 mm in length around the left popliteal artery. We diagnosed cystic adventitial disease of the popliteal artery and scheduled ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration of the cyst under local anesthesia. However, his symptoms improved before the scheduled procedure date and CT images obtained after the disappearance of his symptoms showed reduction of the cyst to 13 mm by 38 mm, with dilation of the lumen of the popliteal artery. We therefore decided to follow up this patient without treatment. Although this disease is very rare, it occurs in a highly active group of patients, and we can therefore expect considerable improvement in activities of daily living after treatment. This disease must be considered in cases of ischemic symptoms in the lower extremities.
