FALSE ANEURYSM OF THE COMMON FEMORAL-ARTERY AFTER TOTAL HIP-ARTHROPLASTY

A 59-year-old healthy man presented with osteoarthritis of his left hi p that was recalcitrant to nonoperative treatment, He subsequently ele cted to have arthroplasty of the hip performed. At 3 months after arth roplasty, he returned reporting progressive groin pain: most remarkabl e was a palpable mass in the groin region, An arteriogram showed a rad iodense mass adjacent to the acetabulum, and a computed tomography sca n with contrast confirmed a large false aneurysm originating from the common femoral artery, In this particular case, a pointed Hohmann retr actor punctured the common femoral artery, creating the dynamics of th e development of a false aneurysm, Primary suture repair of the vascul ar defect was performed, followed by a complete and uncomplicated reco very of the patient to full activity, Since this case, the authors hav e discontinued the use of pointed Hohmann retractors and now use a blu nt, rounded Hohmann retractor during total hip arthroplasty without co mpromising acetabular exposure, However, care must be taken in blunt r etractor placement to avoid retractor slippage during the procedure, T his case shows the need for awareness of potential mechanisms for vasc ular injury related to total hip arthroplasty.