ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Femoral artery pseudoaneurysm is a rare complication but with increasing frequency nowadays due to the advances of endovascular intervention. Rare cases of brachial or popliteal artery pseudoaneurysms had ever been reported and the predictive factors of failed ultrasound-guided compression repair (UGCR) are controversial. METHODS: During the past 8 years, 21 patients (12 males and nine females; median age, 64 years) with peripheral pseudoaneurysms (femoral artery, n = 17; brachial artery, n = 3; popliteal artery, n = 1) were enrolled. A high frequency of 10-12 MHz color ultrasound was used to evaluate the presence of a pseudoaneurysm. The area of the pseudoaneurysm sac and the width and length of the pseudoaneurysm neck were recorded. Under real-time ultrasound guiding, gradual pressure was applied with the probe to obliterate flow in the pseudoaneurysm neck while still allowing flow through the supplying artery for approximately 10-15 minutes with at most three times (45 minutes' compression). Follow-up color sonography was obtained at 24 hours to detect any recurrence. RESULTS: The mean area and the largest dimension of the 21 pseudoaneurysms were 7.3 ± 6.5 cm(2) and 3.6 ± 1.8 cm, respectively. The mean width and the mean length of the pseudoaneurysm neck were 2.1 ± 0.9 and 3.3 ± 2.0 mm, respectively. Successful thrombosis of the pseudoaneurysm was achieved in 19(90.5%) patients. The mean compression time of the 19 successful UGCR was 21.2 ± 11.0 minutes. Two patients failed the UGCR procedure after a 45-minute compression. Both of the two pseudoaneurysms were located in the femoral artery with a large width of the pseudoaneurysm neck (4 and 5 mm, respectively). CONCLUSION: UGCR is a safe and cost-effective therapy for treating peripheral pseudoaneurysms of not only femoral artery, but also brachial artery and popliteal artery. We considered the width of the pseudoaneurysm neck to be the predictive factor of technical success.