Treatment of popliteal vein aneurysms

Popliteal vein aneurysms are associated with high risk for deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism. The goal of this study was to report treatment strategies for popliteal vein aneurysms and their outcome after long-term follow-up.

All patients between June 1993 and June 2018 with diagnosed popliteal vein aneurysm were enrolled in this study and analyzed retrospectively. They received regular surveillance alone or treatment. Patients were offered aneurysm resection or lifelong anticoagulation if they had aneurysm size of twice normal vein diameter. All patients received clinical examination and duplex ultrasound examination 3 to 6 months after operation or primary diagnosis and annually thereafter.

A total of 39 patients (aneurysm size, mean 23.3 mm) were treated by either operation or anticoagulation (31/39 [79%]) or surveillance alone (8/39 [21%]). Patients with an aneurysm >20 mm in diameter had a significantly higher incidence of turbulent flow on duplex ultrasound examination with higher risk for development of DVT (P = .029). Of the 31 patients with a therapeutic approach, 29 (94%) preferred resection, whereas 2 (6%) patients were treated with lifelong anticoagulation and compression. Mean follow-up was 57.9 ± 12.5 months.

According to these results, it seems that patients with large popliteal vein aneurysms experience DVT more frequently. Therefore, popliteal vein aneurysms >20 mm should be considered for surgical treatment or lifelong anticoagulation, depending on the patient's preference.