False aneurysm 14 years after total hip arthroplasty

Many reports of complications after total hip arthroplasty have been publis hed concerning typical orthopaedic problems. Relatively little attention ha s been paid to serious vascular injuries, such as the development of a fals e aneurysm. To our knowledge, 10 cases have been described in the English l iterature. The mean rime interval between surgery and initial manifestation of the aneurysm was 9 months in these casts. Our patient developed first s ymptoms of a false aneurysm 14 years after surgery. A minimally invasive te chnique was used to cut the aneurysm from perfusion. Removal of the total h ip arthroplasty was performed through a retroperitoneal and lateral approac h.