Popliteal Artery Entrapment Syndrome: Report of 29 Cases

Abstract

Twenty-nine cases of popliteal entrapment seen in 19 young adult males are reported. One case was iatrogenic in origin. The cases were divided into four groups according to pathology. Group A was associated with an abnor mal medial head of the gastrocnemius, Group B with an abnormal soleus or plantaris, and Group C with excessive hypertrophy of both heads of the gastrocnemius. The complex abnormality in Group D was associated with hypertrophied semimembranosus, with a lateral attachment of the medial head of the gastrocnemius, and with a low origin of the plantaris. In five cases the artery was thrombosed, whereas the remaining were diagnosed early. In the majority, diagnosis had to be confirmed by arteriography with the leg in a state of stress. It is suggested that the condition is more common than the few published cases would indicate.