Abstract

The case of a patient who developed a femoral artery pseudoaneurysm (FAP) following cardiac catheterization is described. It is one of the most troublesome complications after various invasive cardiovascular procedures related to the femoral arterial access site. Iatrogenic pseudoaneurysms (IPA) form when an arterial puncture site fails to seal, allowing arterial blood to ooze into the surrounding tissues and form a pulsatile hematoma. The FAP occurs in 0.8% to 2.2% after interventional procedures. This problem has become more significant due to the exponential growth of interventional cardiology.

Doppler flow mapping has been the mainstay of diagnosis. Diagnostic criteria include: swirling color flow in a mass separate from the affected artery, and a typical “to-and-fro” Doppler waveform in the pseudoaneurysm neck. Ultrasound-guided compression repair has replaced the need for surgical repair of FAP. It has been shown to be a safe and cost-effective method for achieving pseudoaneurysm thrombosis. However, it carries considerable drawbacks including long procedure times, discomfort to patients, high recurrence rate in patients receiving anticoagulant therapy and an overall 3.6% complication rate.

Recently, percutaneous thrombin injection in the FAP has gained popularity despite complications associated with the initial use of high dose thrombin (average dose of 1,100 IU). The technique was refined when low-dose thrombin injections were studied and proved to have the same efficacy and consistently high success rates (average dose used 192 IU). However, there is a theoretical risk of developing type I IgE-mediated allergic reaction to bovine thrombin.

The indications, advantages, disadvantages, and complications of the various treatment modalities are discussed in this report and review of the literature. Other treatments with collagen injection are also discussed in detail.