Huge popliteal arterial aneurysms in Behçet's syndrome: is ligation an alternative treatment?

Behçet's syndrome is a multisystemic disease characterized by relapsing uveitis, oral and genital ulcerations, and vascular system involvement. The vascular involvement is seen as venous occlusion, arterial occlusion, and aneurysm formation in this disease, and the surgical treatment of a Behçet's aneurysm has technical difficulties. In this report, we suggest that the huge popliteal artery aneurysm in Behçet's syndrome can be treated by ligation of the popliteal artery. A 58-year-old male patient was admitted to our clinic because of an infrapopliteal great mass at the left leg. Color Doppler ultrasonography and arteriography revealed a 71 x 54 mm aneurysmal dilatation at the distal popliteal artery. Surgery did not reveal any suitable arterial formation for bypass to the distal area of the popliteal artery and tibial arteries. For this reason, we applied ligation of aneurysmal dilatation at the distal popliteal artery. The patient tolerated the operation well and had no signs of ischemia during the postoperative period. In conclusion, especially in aneurysm of arteries such as the popliteal artery, which has critical importance for maintaining distal perfusion, ligation may be a treatment method if there are no other alternatives.