Percutaneous Thrombin Injection Based on Computational Fluid Dynamics of Femoral Artery Pseudoaneurysms

Objective

To analyze the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of femoral artery pseudoaneurysm (FAP), identify a suitable location and timing for percutaneous thrombin injection (PTI) based on this analysis, and report our clinical experience with the procedure.

Materials and Methods

CFD can be used to analyze the hemodynamics of the human body. An analysis using CFD recommended that the suitable location of the needle tip for PTI is at the center of the aneurysm sac and the optimal timing for starting PTI is during the early inflow phase of blood into the sac. Since 2011, seven patients (three male and four female; median age, 60 years [range, 43–75 years]) with FAP were treated with PTI based on the devised suitable location and time. Prior to the procedure, color Doppler ultrasonography was performed to determine the location and timing of the thrombin injection.

Results

The technical success rate of the PTI was 100%. The amount of thrombin used for the procedure ranged from 200 IU to 1000 IU (median, 500 IU). None of the patients experienced any symptoms or signs of embolic complications during the procedure. Follow-up CT images did not reveal any embolism in the lower extremities and showed complete thrombosis of the pseudoaneurysm.

Conclusion

Based on our study of CFD, PTI administered centrally in the FAP during early inflow, as seen on color Doppler, can be an effective technique.

Iatrogenic percutaneous vascular injuries: clinical presentation, imaging, and management

Vascular interventional radiology procedures are relatively safe compared with analogous surgical procedures, with overall major complication rates of less than 1%. However, major vascular injuries resulting from these procedures may lead to significant morbidity and mortality. This review will discuss the etiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management of vascular complications related to percutaneous vascular interventions. Early recognition of these complications and familiarity with treatment options are essential skills for the interventional radiologist.

Post-traumatic pseudoaneurysm of the thyrocervical trunk

Pseudoaneurysms of the thyrocervical trunk or its branches are extremely rare. They are often the result of a penetrating injury and commonly iatrogenic in origin. Pseudoaneurysm formation following blunt trauma has twice been reported in the English-language literature. We report a case of a 56-year-old man involved in a motor vehicle collision who presented with a slowly growing mass over the course of 4 months. A magnetic resonance (MR) examination was requested to evaluate the cause of this slowly growing mass. Our case is unique in that MR imaging correctly diagnosed the lesion, which was subsequently treated with ultrasound-guided percutaneous thrombin injection. Our case is the only published instance of treatment of a thyrocervical trunk pseudoaneurysm by direct ultrasound-guided percutaneous thrombin injection.

Contained rupture of a celiac artery aneurysm treated with aortic endograft deployment and assisting percutaneous coil and thrombin infusion

In this report we present a case of a ruptured celiac artery aneurysm (CAA) with a thrombosed distal neck, which was treated as an emergently with a deployment of a tube thoracic endograft to the descending thoracic and upper abdominal aorta. The initial treatment was assisted with a second stage percutaneous, transhepatic, ultrasound guided needle infusion of coil and thrombin to the aneurysmal sac due to type Ib endoleak, with immediate thrombosis of the aneurysm. This technique, although not standard, could also be considered as a useful choice for the treatment of CAAs with wide proximal and patent distal neck.

Percutaneous treatment of iatrogenic pseudoaneurysms by cyanoacrylate-based wall-gluing

PURPOSE

Although the majority of iatrogenic pseudoaneurysms (PSAs) are amenable to ultrasound (US)-guided thrombin injection, patients with those causing neuropathy, claudication, significant venous compression, or soft tissue necrosis are considered poor candidates for this option and referred to surgery. We aimed to test the effectiveness and feasibility of a novel percutaneous cyanoacrylate glue (NBCA-MS)-based technique for treatment of symptomatic and asymptomatic iatrogenic PSA.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

During a 3-year period, we prospectively enrolled 91 patients with iatrogenic PSA [total n = 94 (femoral n = 76; brachial n = 11; radial n = 6; axillary n = 1)]. PSA were asymptomatic in 66 % of cases, and 34 % presented with symptoms due to neuropathy, venous compression, and/or soft tissue necrosis. All patients signed informed consent. All patients received NBCA-MS-based percutaneous treatment. PSA chamber emptying was first obtained by US-guided compression; superior and inferior walls of the PSA chamber were then stuck together using NBCA-MS microinjections. Successfulness of the procedure was assessed immediately and at 1-day and 1-, 3-, and 12-month US follow-up.

RESULTS

PSA occlusion rate was 99 % (93 of 94 cases). After treatment, mean PSA antero-posterior diameter decrease was 67 ± 22 %. Neuropathy and vein compression immediately disappeared in 91 % (29 of 32) of cases. Patients with tissue necrosis (n = 6) underwent subsequent outpatient necrosectomy. No distal embolization occurred, nor was conversion to surgery necessary.

CONCLUSION

PSA treatment by way of NBCA-MS glue injection proved to be safe and effective in asymptomatic patients as well as those with neuropathy, venous compression, or soft-tissue necrosis (currently candidates for surgery). Larger series are needed to confirm these findings.

Thrombin Injection to Treat a Scalp Pseudoaneurysm

We describe the successful treatment of a large scalp pseudoaneurysm using direct thrombin injection.