Abstract
Objective and Methods: From October 2003 to October 2013, 42 popliteal artery aneurysms (PAA) in 30 patients presented at our hospital. The mean age of the patients was 69 years; 24 were male and 6 were female. Results: Mean PAA size was 32 mm. At initial visit 72% of the patients presented ischemic symptoms; 56% of the patients with aneurysm occlusion and 16% of peripheral embolization. Aneurism occlusion or intramural thrombosis tend to increase in relation to aneurismal size, however in these cases we observed this increase in patients with aneurysms of less than 2 cm. Twenty eight PAAs were treated surgically; three patients required leg amputation and in three grafts were occluded. These cases had poor vessel runoff due to occlusion of all three vessels. Conclusion: Popliteal artery aneurysm greatly increases the risk of ischemic event due to thrombosis, and surgical outcome may be affected by peripheral embolism. It is therefore important to consider not only PAA size, but also intra-mural thrombosis in determining surgical indications in the course of treatment to prevent increased risk of an acute ischemic event even in patients with small aneurisms.
