Endovascular Vein Graft for the Treatment of Popliteal Pseudoaneurysm: A Case Report and One-Year Follow-up

Recent reports have documented the use of covered stents for the treatment of traumatic injuries to the vascular system. We report the first use of an autologous vein-covered Palmaz stent for the treatment of a popliteal artery pseudoaneurysm. A 5-foot-2-inch, 320-pound woman was referred to the authors' institution with new onset of pain and ecchymosis in the popliteal fossa while on Coumadin therapy for treatment of a deep venous thrombosis. She had undergone left total knee replacement 13 months previously. A contrast computed tomography (CT) scan confirmed an 8-cm aneurysm behind the knee. The patient was offered endovascular treatment of this aneurysm as an alternative to bypass surgery. Intraoperative arteriography was performed through a superficial femoral artery cutdown and demonstrated a large popliteal pseudoaneurysm. A 2-cm Palmaz stent was attached to a 6-mm-wide-by-2-cm-long side branch of greater saphenous vein and was used to occlude the neck of the pseudoaneurysm. Completion arteriogram c...