A Case of Popliteal Artery Aneurysm in a Neurofibromatosis Type I Patient

Abstract

In this case study, we report the successful surgical treatment of a popliteal artery aneurysm (PAA) in a neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1) patient. A 51-year-old man with a history of NF-1 was referred consequent to a complaint of pain in his right leg. Computed tomography revealed a 3.5-cm aneurysm in the right popliteal artery (PA) and diffuse stenosis in the distal PA due to thromboembolism. Vasculopathy is uncommon in NF-1, with PAAs being particularly rare. We selected a surgical approach to prevent rupture and limb ischemia. The aneurysm vessel wall was very fragile because of NF-1 and the aneurysm had extended to the middle superficial femoral artery. Therefore, we performed a femoral–anterior tibial artery bypass using a reversed saphenous vein graft and a ligation via an endovascular technique-assisted medial approach to exclude the aneurysm.