Endovascular interventions on persistent sciatic arteries

To report our experience with interventional procedures used to treat complete and incomplete persistent sciatic arteries (PSA).

Three female patients with PSAs displayed varying symptoms referable to this rare anatomical variant. In the first woman, a 1-year history of intermittent lower limb ischemia and an acute event prompted angiography, which demonstrated proximal occlusion of 2 crural vessels and a partially thrombosed sciatic artery aneurysm. To prevent further embolism, the aneurysm was excluded with a stent-graft. Endograft patency and aneurysm exclusion have been maintained up to 22 months. In a 41-year-old diabetic with chronic limb ischemia and digital gangrene, a flow-limiting stenosis of the sciatic artery was stented, restoring adequate pedal perfusion. The stent remained patent at the 18-month follow-up. The third patient suffered from a tumor-related pelvic hemorrhage originating from retrograde perfusion through the PSA, which had been ligated during previous surgery. Attempted embolization via a collateral connection between the incomplete PSA and the popliteal artery failed, and the patient died.

Vasculopathies involving the sciatic artery are uncommon but may be amenable to interventional techniques, such as coil embolization and stent implantation. PSA aneurysm exclusion with a stent-graft may represent a new therapeutic alternative to standard surgery that obviates potential sciatic nerve damage, but the durability of the repair remains to be determined.