Surgical treatment for acute ischemia caused by bilateral popliteal artery entrapment syndrome in an elderly patient: report of a case.

We report the unusual case of a 73-year-old man who underwent surgery for bilateral popliteal artery entrapment syndrome (PAES). A medial approach was used to operate on the left leg, and the vein bypass was made from the superficial femoral artery to the crural artery through a subfascial route. A posterior approach was used to operate on the right leg and it was found that the mid-popliteal artery passed medial to and beneath the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle and was severely compressed by an accessory slip of muscle. The vein bypass from the above-knee to below-knee popliteal artery was established through the original route after resection of the accessory slip of muscle. A postoperative arteriogram showed good bypass flow to the bilateral crural arteries. To our knowledge, this case represents the oldest patient with this disorder to be treated by surgery.