Open versus endovascular repair of popliteal artery aneurysms

A 72-year-old male presents with a large asymptomatic aneurysm of his left popliteal artery. He has a history of noninsulin dependent diabetes, hyptertension, and a prior history of a percutaneous intervention for a coronary artery stenosis. He is anatomically and physiologically a candidate for surgical or endovascular repair of his aneurysm. The following debate attempts to resolve whether open repair remains the gold standard for the treatment of popliteal artery aneurysms.