Femoral artery thrombosis after percutaneous thrombin injection of an external iliac artery pseudoaneurysm

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous thrombin injection has been developed as a l ess invasive and highly successful treatment of iatrogenic femoral pseudoan eurysms. Most of these lesions have been the result of catheterization proc edures. This method has proved to be highly effective, and few complication s have been reported. Specifically, native arterial thrombosis, although re cognized as a severe complication, has been mentioned only briefly in the l iterature. We present a case of the successful management of native arteria l thrombosis after attempted percutaneous thrombin injection of a chronic e xternal iliac artery pseudoaneurysm. This case serves to illustrate the ris k factors for this complication and the treatment options once it occurs. T he success of this treatment with acute iatrogenic femoral pseudoaneurysms may not necessarily translate into similar success in other anatomic locati ons and clinical situations.