Vascular Pathology: Vascular Disease: Thrombotic Occlusion of the Lower Aorta and Iliac Arteries

A surgical resection specimen from a 43 year old man who presented with an eighteen month history of intermittent claudication. On admission he was only able to walk 25 yards. He had been impotent for twelve months. On examination there was no palpable pulse in either leg or in the abdomen. An aortogram showed no filling of the abdominal aorta below the renal arteries. The affected aorta was replaced by a prosthetic graft with relief of the patient's symptoms. The specimen consists of a 7 cm long segment of the abdominal aorta, the aortic bifurcation and the proximal common iliac arteries. All show complete obliteration of the lumen by thrombus.