This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Google Scholar Articles by Fernandez Alonso, S. Articles by de Cubas, L. R. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Fernandez Alonso, S. Articles by de Cubas, L. R. Related Collections Related Article

Post-sternotomy intercostal artery pseudoaneurysm. Sonographic diagnosis and thrombosis by ultrasound-guided percutaneous thrombin injection

Department of Vascular Surgery, University Hospital La Paz, Paseo de la Castellana, 261, CP 28046, Madrid, Spain

*Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 670709457.

E-mail address: sebasfern{at}gmail.com (S. Fernandez Alonso).

Intercostal artery pseudoaneurysms are extremely rare. We present a case of an intercostal artery pseudoaneurysm after median sternotomy that was treated by ultrasound-guided percutaneous thrombin injection. They are a potential source of complications, especially haemothorax, and treatment is mandatory. Different methods may be used for the confirmatory diagnosis of false aneurysms. Doppler ultrasound (DUS) and CT are the two most commonly used methods, but pseudoaneurysms have also been diagnosed by means of arteriography (AR), which enables endovascular treatment of the pseudoaneurysm in a single procedure. We used Doppler sonography alone, because this technique yielded a definitive diagnosis without the need for other complementary imaging modalities to treat the lesion. There are various possible treatments for lesions of this kind. Endovascular embolization is the commonly used treatment for intercostal pseudoaneurysm but also stent grafting has been described. Surgical aneurysmectomy with proximal ligation of the intercostal artery is an option described for the treatment of the pseudoaneurysm. To date only seven cases have been published in the literature. Our case is the only published instance of treatment of an intercostal artery pseudoaneurysm by direct percutaneous thrombin injection under sonographic guidance.

Key Words: False aneurysm; Intercostal pseudoaneurysm; Latrogenic pseudoaneurysm

Related Article

eComment: It could be an iatrogenic arteriovenous fistula

Jacobo Silva
Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery 2009 9: 724. [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Silva eComment: It could be an iatrogenic arteriovenous fistula Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery, October 1, 2009; 9(4): 724 - 724. [Full Text] [PDF]