Pseudoaneurysm caused by disruption of an externally supported knitted Dacron graft for femoropopliteal bypass.

Technological advances in artificial blood vessels used in arterial reconstructive surgery have contributed significantly to the development of this field. The 5-year cumulative patency rate of femoropopliteal bypass using knitted Dacron grafts at Keio University Hospital is over 80% (1). This rate is comparable with the results of femoropopliteal bypass surgery using autovein grafts (2, 3, 4). Therefore, we usually perform femoropopliteal bypass using a knitted Dacron graft. However, pseudoaneurysm formation remains one of the major complications of arterial reconstructive surgery. In most cases, a pseudoaneurysm is caused by infection or external injury, and is detected at the anastomotic site. This paper deals with an extremely rare, non-anastomotic aneurysm caused by total disruption in the middle of an externally supported knitted Dacron graft used for femoropopliteal bypass.