Phenol sympathectomy for symptomatic fibromuscular angiodysplasia of the lower limb.

Clinical manifestation of fibromuscular angiodysplasia of the lower extremities is often due to a spastic phase of the arteries, and may be severe enough to present as Raynaud's phenomenon. We describe a 37-year-old woman who suffered for a year from numbness and coldness of the foot and claudication over 30 meters. Angiography revealed fibromuscular angiodysplasia of the left superficial femoral artery, right anterior tibial artery and spastic changes in the peroneal artery. Phenol sympathectomy of the third lumbar ganglion resulted in dramatic relief of symptoms.