Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Case Reports in Orthopedics
Volume 2013, Article ID 569586, 3 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/569586
Case Report
Pseudoaneurysm of the Anterior Tibial Artery
following Tibio-Talar-Calcaneum Fusion with a Retrograde Nail:
A Rare Case and Literature Review
Simon Craxford, Saravana V. Karuppiah, and Stephen Milner
Department of Orthopaedics Royal Derby Hospital, Uttoxeter Road, Derby DE22 3NE, UK
Correspondence should be addressed to Simon Craxford; simon.craxford@nhs.net
Received 17 June 2013; Accepted 7 July 2013
Academic Editors: M. T. Hirschmann, M. Pirpiris, H. G. Said, and T. Yasuda
Copyright © 2013 Simon Craxford et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
his study reports the case of an 87-year-old woman who presented with a nonresolving haematoma 13 weeks following tibiotalar
arthrodesis surgery on her right ankle using a retrograde nail. his was revealed by angiography to be a pseudoaneurysm of the
anterior tibial artery. he patient subsequently underwent endovascular stenting of the pseudoaneurysm and has had a successful
recovery. his case highlights the need for awareness of both the normal arterial supply to the leg and ankle as well as the potential
for anatomical variations. Arterial variation may be as high as 6.7% based on published indings from cadaveric studies. As
pseudoaneurysm is a rare complication, a high index of suspicion is needed in order to avoid a missed or delayed diagnosis. We
urge surgeons to keep in mind the potential for pseudoaneurysm when a patient presents with a nonresolving haematoma and
arrange appropriate further investigations as needed.
1. Introduction
A pseudoaneurysm is a rare complication following
ankle surgery. Cases of pseudoaneurysm following ankle
arthroscopy [1], application of Ilizarov external ixator
[2], fracture [3], and sprain of the ankle [4] have all been
previously reported. We present a case of pseudoaneurysm
of the anterior tibial artery ater tibio-talar-calcaneal
arthrodesis using a retrograde nail. he patient was treated
with endovascular stenting and had a full recovery. We also
review the potential variations in the course of the anterior
tibial artery.
2. Case Presentation
An 87-year-old woman in good previous health with known
rheumatoid arthritis presented to the orthopaedic outpatients
department. She complained of long standing pain from
her right ankle. She had previously successfully undergone
an elective Right Subtalar Arthrodesis eight years ago,
(as shown in Figure 1) however, she was now symptomatic
from tibiotalar ankle arthritis.
A tibio-talar-calcaneal arthrodesis was performed with
a retrograde nail through the heel and the old arthrodesis
screws were removed. here were no noted intraoperative
or immediate postoperative complications. As per standard
departmental operating procedure, she was immobilised in
plaster for 6 weeks. At followup six weeks ater surgery, a
haematoma was noted at the site of the proximal locking
screw, but her wound was otherwise healing well. A fol-
lowup at 13 weeks showed complete union of the arthrode-
sis.
She, however, complained of a throbbing sensation on
the leg. On examination pulsatile swelling measuring 6 cm by
6 cm was seen over the lower anterolateral region of her shin.
here was an audible bruit on auscultation.
Angiogram demonstrates a large pseudoaneurysm aris-
ing from the distal anterior tibial artery, as shown in Figure 2.
he peroneal artery was patent. he posterior tibial artery
is occluded distally although this reforms at the ankle joint
via collaterals from the peroneal artery. She subsequently
underwent stenting with a 3.5 mm Jomed covered stent on
a 0.014 system, successfully deployed across the origin of
the pseudoaneurysm. Postprocedure imaging demonstrated