[Angiographic assessment of the incidence rate of atypical variants of the development of crural and plantar arteries].

OBJECTIVE

assessing the incidence rate of atypical anatomical variants of the development of the popliteal artery and plantar arteries according to the findings of digital subtraction angiography.

MATERIAL: Retrospective analysis of angiograms of 2,456 lower limbs in 1,305 patients. The character of the arterial lesion and the quality of the angiograms allowed of evaluating the anatomy of the popliteal artery and plantar arteries on a total of 1,609 extremities (65%).

RESULTS

The incidence of atypical ramification of the popliteal artery amounted to 9%. Altered blood supply of the foot was observed in 7.6% of cases. The total incidence rate of atypical anatomical variants in men and women did not differ significantly. In the presence of a typical anatomical variant on one extremity, the prevalence of atypical blood supply of the other limb amounted to 16.3%. In the presence of an atypical anatomical variant on one limb, the incidence of atypical blood supply of the other amounted to 42%. In case of atypical blood supply of the foot on one limb, the incidence rate of the same-type abnormality on the other equalled 48%.

CONCLUSION

In a typical variant of blood supply of one extremity, the probability of typical blood supply of the other amounted to 83 .7%, in an atypical variant decreasing to 58%. In case of atypical blood supply of one foot, one should suppose an analogous anatomical variant on the other foot in half of the cases.