The Korean Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery  2009;42(5):653-656

Popliteal Artery Entrapment Syndrome : A case report.

Duk Sil KIM 1 ; Sung Wan KIM ; Byung Ki KIM ; Hyeon Jae LEE ; Gun LEE ; Chang Young LIM

Affiliations

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Keywords

Arteries; Ischemia; Surgery

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

Abstract

The entrapment of the popliteal artery is a rare cause of ischemia of the lower extremities among young males. The development of local occlusive or aneurysmal changes of the popliteal artery is caused by abnormal anatomic relationships between vascular and musculo-tendinous structures in the popliteal fossa. An 18-year-old male visited our outpatient clinic with the chief complaint of claudication in his right calf. Three dimensional CT angiography showed an occlusion of the popliteal artery and less opacified arteries of the right leg. Intraoperatively, the popliteal artery was compressed by an accessory muscle band arising from the medial head of the gastrocnemius. After release of the muscle band, thrombectomy with endarterectomy was done. Three years after surgery, he is doing well without any problems.