Open surgery vs endovascular repair for popliteal artery aneurysms

Objective To compare the safety and efficacy of surgical and endovascular management for popliteal artery aneurysms. Methods The clinical data of 28 patients with popliteal artery aneurysm admitted to our department from December 2009 to March 2015 was analyzed retrospectively.12 patients underwent open surgery, and 16 did endovascular repair. Results In the surgical operation group (12 cases), the mean length of hospital stay was 18±3 days, with 1 case suffering from delayed wound healing, and 1 case of anastomotic pseudoaneurysm The vascular graft patency rate was 100% at 1 year (12/12), and 75% (9/12) at 2 years. In the endovascular repair treatment group(16 cases), the average time of hospitalization was (10±2) days. The patency rate of vascular stent was 93.3% (14/15) at 1 year, and 86.7% (13/15) at 2 years (all P>0.05). Surgical operation had longer hospitalization and more complications than endovascular repair. Conclusions Endovascular repair provides similar short-term patency rate to that of surgical operation treatment, but with shorter hospitalizations and less complications in patients with popliteal artery aneurysms. Viabahn stenting helps improve the patency rate. Key words: Artery aneurysms; Surgical procedures, operative