A team of doctors treated a 48-year-old man for a vascular complication in which an abnormal bony growth in the leg led to the swelling of an artery and sudden blockage of blood flow, causing severe pain and restricting his ability to walk.
Doctors at SIMS Hospital performed surgery to remove the bony growth, repair the damaged artery, and restore blood flow, thereby preventing a possible leg amputation. The patient has since recovered, a press release said.
They diagnosed the patient with a popliteal artery aneurysm — a balloon-like swelling in the artery with blood clots — caused by the bony growth (femur exostosis), which originated from the thigh bone and pressed against the main artery behind the knee. This rare combination led to a sudden blockage of blood flow to the leg (acute limb ischemia). The surgery involved removing the femur exostosis, ligating the affected popliteal artery, and performing a bypass from the popliteal to the posterior tibial artery using a reversed saphenous vein graft.
The team comprised Sairam Subramanian, consultant vascular and endovascular surgeon, and Kalaivanan Kanniyan, senior consultant orthopaedic and arthroplasty surgeon, with the support of the anaesthetic team.
