Unilateral Embolization of the Internal Iliac Artery for Endovascular Aortic Repair Does Not Induce Gluteal Muscle Atrophy

To investigate the effect of unilateral internal iliac artery (IIA) embolization for endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) on gluteal muscle size. We assessed the gluteal muscle size in 111 consecutive patients who underwent elective EVAR with unilateral IIA embolization (n = 31) or without IIA embolization (n = 80) for abdominal aortic and/or iliac artery aneurysm. The cross-sectional area (CSA) of the gluteus maximus (Gmax) and gluteus medius/minimus (Gmed/min) was measured on computed tomography preoperatively, 6 months postoperatively, and final follow-up. Mean changes in the Gmax and Gmed/min CSA were evaluated using a mixed model analysis of variance. In the patients with embolization, both the Gmax and Gmed/min CSA significantly decreased over time on the embolization and nonembolization sides (P