[Echo-guided compression in the treatment of femoral pseudoaneurysms secondary to cardiological interventional procedures].

PURPOSE: To analyze perspectively a set of 13 patients affected by femoral artery pseudoaneurysm treated with Us-guided compression. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From January to December 1997 we observed 13 patients (7 females and 6 males; mean age: 67.4 years old) affected by femoral artery pseudoaneurysm which were treated with Us-guided compression. The compression was repeated for 15 minutes up to complete closure of the pseudoaneurysm. Every patient was followed up 24 hours after the procedure, before the discharge and every 3 months. RESULTS: In 6 cases the cardiologic procedure had diagnostic purposes while in 7 cases had interventional purposes. The pseudoaneurysm was located in the common femoral artery in 10 cases, in the superficial femoral artery in 2 cases and in the profunda femoris in the last case. The fistula between the aneurysmatic chamber and the arterial lumen had a mean length of 1 centimeter (range: 0.5-2.5 cm) and the mean diameter of the pseudoaneurysm was 3 centimeters (range: 1.5-6 cm). The mean length of the compression was 34 minutes (range: 10-120 min). The technical success rate was 92.3% with one case of failure in the unique localization in the profunda femoris. The procedure was well tolerated from the patients, with minimal discomfort. After the treatment the mean hospital stay was 2 days and to date we have had no recurrences after a mean follow-up of 18 months. CONCLUSIONS: In accordance with the data of the literature, Us-guided compression is the treatment of choice of femoral pseudoaneurysms after cardiac catheterization. The procedure is well tolerated in almost all the patients and it deters the need of surgery with reduction of complications, costs and hospital stay.