Popliteal Artery Cystic Adventitial Disease: Early Lessons in Treatment

Abstract

We present 6 patients who had operative repair of symptomatic popliteal cystic adventitial disease (pCAD). Developmental theories for pCAD and surgical alternatives are presented. All patients who had repair of pCAD over the past 3 years are included. Three patients had cyst excision alone, whereas the remaining 3 had cyst and artery excision with interposition vein grafting. Cyst recurrence occurred in 2 patients who had cyst excision alone. Four of the patients had a patent communication between the cyst and the joint capsule. Our small series suggests that the articular (synovial) theory of development may be the most likely and that cyst and artery excision with interposition vein grafting may be preferred over cyst excision alone.