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Rationale: Persistent sciatic artery (PSA) is a rare congenital vascular anomaly. The sciatic artery, which normally regresses to become the inferior gluteal artery during fetal development, persists as a direct branch of the internal iliac artery. Patient concern: We report a 78-year-old female who was admitted due to sudden pain, numbness, and loss of sensation in the right lower limb. Diagnoses: Acute thromboembolism in the right leg, bilateral PSA, and bilateral aneurysm. Interventions: After the super-selective embolization, lower limb arterial thrombolysis treatment was performed. After symptom relief, a computed tomography angiography was conducted to clarify the vascular variations. Outcomes: After relief of lower limb embolism, long-term antiplatelet therapy was administered. Lessons: When performing an ultrasound examination of PSA, careful identification of the arterial anatomy, evaluation of blood flow, assessment of surrounding structures, comparison between sides, and correlation with clinical symptoms are crucial to accurately diagnose this rare vascular anomaly.
Mao et al. (Fri,) studied this question.