Endovascular treatment of the internal iliac artery in peripheral arterial disease.

In patients with peripheral arterial disease not much is known about the relationship between the localization of the pain and the localization of arterial occlusions in the iliac arteries. Occlusions high in the iliac arteries are assumed to be able to induce pain in the buttocks and upper leg as well as pain in the calves. Several case reports show that the symptoms of arteriosclerotic lesions in the internal iliac artery are often atypical and not easy to diagnose. In this report, 3 patients with internal iliac artery occlusions who were treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) are described. One patient had isolated pain in the buttock region. In the other 2 patients the initial pain was focused on the buttock region with extension to the calves during exercise. After PTA, 2 patients were free of symptoms, while in the other patient the symptoms improved but did not disappear. Future research should clarify the relation between certain arterial occlusions and the location of the pain.