RARE CAUSE OF LOWER LIMB PAIN - POPLITEAL ARTERY ANEURYSM.

Background: Peripheral artery aneurysms are a rare but still underdiagnosed pathology, therefore sometimes being one of the last differential diagnoses considered to determine the cause of lower limb pain. They are defined as a focal dilation in the artery and are often associated with abdominal aortic aneurysms. In this work the goal is to show the benefits of surgical treatment of the popliteal artery aneurysms (PAA), which may represent a cause of lower limb pain.Popliteal aneurysms can be treated by two methods: open surgical repair, in which a bypass is created around the aneurysm to improve the flow of blood, or endovascular popliteal aneurysm repair, where a stent-graft is inserted into the area of the aneurysm. Material and methods: This case report presents a 64 years male who was hospitalized at the Vascular Surgery Department, Emergency Mures County Hospital, in September of 2021. The patient was admitted with the following multiplecomorbidities: Chronic Venous Disease C2EpAsPr, Peripheral Arterial Disease stage II, Diabetes Melitus type II, Obesity stage 2. He had pain in the lower limb for about three months. The overall diagnostic and investigative process took another three months, inside and outside the hospital, in order to exclude other differential diagnoses. Because of this, the patient suffered from lower limb pain for half of a year before being diagnosed with PAA. It was located in the first part of the popliteal artery and had the size of 36x31x28 mm. The surgical procedures performed was popliteo-popliteal by-pass with reinforced Goretex graft. Results: The patient had a good postoperative evolution without any bloodloss and the pulse was consistently present even at the dorsalis pedis artery. The patient also did not have any important pain in the lower limb. The surgical treatment was a good choice with a beneficial outcome for the patient. Conclusions: Open surgical treatment of the PAA can solve the cause of the lower limb pain and thereby improves the quality of life. After the long diagnostic time it is usually a big relieve for the patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]