Isolated aneurysms of the iliac artery.

Clinical and diagnostic material were gathered from eight cases of iliac aneurysms encountered over a ten-year period. From the literature, descriptions of 36 lesions were also reviewed to identify their outcome when treated conservatively. Six of the eight aneurysms treated as expected resulted in eventual rupture. Although 48% of all patients (those in the present series and those reported in the literature) had symptoms before rupture, the symptoms of intact iliac aneurysms often mimicked urological or neurological diseases. In contrast to persons with abdominal aortic aneurysms, only 36% of all patients had a palpable abdominal or rectal mass before rupture. In 65% of all cases, noninvasive roentgenography failed to show the lesions. An aneurysmal lesion was often (23%) present in the opposite iliac system as well. Ninety-three percent of all patients survived after an elective operation, but only 48% survived after an emergency iliac aneurysmectomy after rupture occurred.