Abstract
The authors present a group of 10 patients with the diagnosis of acute ischaemia of an extremity caused by an aneurysm of the popliteal artery, during the period from 1997 till October 2002, who within a short time interval were treated by a combination of endovascular and surgical therapy. The group comprised 8 men and 2 women.
The mean age was 58 years, the range 48-78 years. A bilateral aneurysm was present in 3 patients, coincidence with an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta was found in one patient.
In all ten patients combined treatment was used involving local thrombolysis rtPA (Actilyse® Boehringer Ingelheim) for 24-48 hours followed within 24 hours by exclusion of the aneurysm with vascular reconstruction. No death, amputation nor closure of the reconstruction was recorded during hospitalization.
The medium term results suggest a 100% patency when an autologous vein was used, much poorer results are obtained when prostheses were used in particular in patients with femoropopliteal bypasses. In our opinion in acute ischaemia of the extremities as a result thrombosis of an aneurysm of the popliteal artery the application of a combination of local thrombolysis rtPA followed within a short time interval by vascular reconstruction increases the probability of saving the affected extremity and markedly reduces the necessity of amputation as compared with primary surgical treatment.