Atherosclerotic aneurysm of the deep femoral artery. Case report.

Three cases of atherosclerotic aneurysm of the deep femoral artery are described. They demonstrated the differing presentations of atherosclerotic femoral aneurysm, viz. as "asymptomatic" pulsating tumour or with manifestations of distal ischaemia or rapid growth and rupture. A search of the literature revealed 12 cases of atherosclerotic aneurysm in the deep femoral artery, and additionally 11 mentioned in review articles on femoral aneurysm. Notably, five of the 15 (including the 3 here described) cases of deep femoral artery aneurysm presented with rupture, an incidence higher than has been reported for aneurysm of the common or superficial femoral artery. The reason probably is that deep femoral aneurysms are more difficult to diagnose before they have reached a size carrying higher risk of rupture. A more aggressive approach, with operation soon after establishment of the diagnosis, is therefore proposed.