Cystic adventitial disease: A cause of peripheral arterial disease that should be remembered in young adults

Adventitial cystic disease is a rare peripheral arterial disease characterized by viscous and mucinous cysts in the arterial adventitia. Patients are usually young individuals without any risk factors for atherosclerosis. A 27-year-old man suffering from pain on his left leg was admitted. He had no history of atherosclerotic risk factors. Attenuated pulses were palpated. Doppler ultrasonography and computed tomography angiography revealed total occlusion in the femoral artery. Bypass surgery was performed using the vein graft. Histopathological examination revealed mucinous degeneration in the vascular wall. In conclusion, when arterial stenosis or occlusion develops in young patients having no risk factors for atherosclerosis, cystic adventitial disease should not be ignored. As frequently encountered in popliteal arteries, it must be distinguished carefully from popliteal artery entrapment syndrome.