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.