Surgical Treatment for an Atherosclerotic Aneurysm of the Superficial Femoral Artery: Report of a Case

Abstract

We report the case of an isolated atherosclerotic aneurysm of the superficial femoral artery (SFA). The patient was a 76-year-old man who presented with intermittent claudication and muscle weakness in his right leg. Angiography showed an aneurysm in the lower portion of the right SFA, but no abdominal aortic aneurysm or any other peripheral aneurysms were detected. The patient had not suffered any major complications such as rupture, thrombosis, or distal emboli by the time of presentation. Thus, we resected the aneurysm and replaced it with a Dacron graft. Pathological examination revealed typical atherosclerotic changes and no evidence of infection, previous injury, or connective tissue disorders. While isolated atherosclerotic aneurysms of the SFA are rare, with only about 30 cases documented, patients frequently present with major complications and therefore, making an early diagnosis and initiating appropriate surgical treatment are essential.