Iliac Aneurysms
Aneurysms are outpouchings along a weakened section of the wall of an artery. They can occur in many different arteries. One artery where they can occur
but are often overlooked is the iliac artery. There are two iliac arteries (one of each side), which branch off the aorta and supply blood to the legs.
Isolated iliac artery aneurysms are rare. They occur most often in association with abdominal aortic aneurysms. It is one type of aneurysm that is particularly amenable to treatment with endovascular stents, particularly if they are unilateral (occuring on one side only) and the internal iliac artery (hypogastric artery) is not affected.
However, if the iliac artery aneursym is located near the iliac bifurcation (branch point between hypogastric artery and external iliac artery) simple stenting is not possible. In this case, either an embolization (clotting off) of the hypogastric artery is done to shunt blood through other vessels into the pelvis with stent placement across the common iliac is done or an open vascular surgery is performed.
If the aneurysm is in the hypogastric artery (internal iliac artery), this requires only an embolization of the aneurysm distally with a stent occlusion (blockage) of the opening of the hypogastric to insure exclusion (no blood flow).
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