Fogarty Balloon Catheter Injury Revisited: A Cause for Progressive Claudication

Abstract

A 59-year-old competitive ballroom dancer presented with right thigh claudication upon strenuous exercise. Following a diagnostic arteriogram, she underwent aortoiliac reconstruction for an ulcerated and narrowed distal aorta and severely stenotic right common iliac artery. The procedure was complicated by acute graft thrombosis due to a heparininduced “white-clot” syndrome. Several passes were made with Fogarty balloon catheters through each iliac limb and from the femoral arteries down each lower extremity until normal pulses returned. The patient returned 3 months later with a 6-week history of severe disabling bilateral calf claudication. An arteriogram showed diffusely narrowed iliac, femoral, and popliteal arteries, bilaterally, compared to the generous caliber vessels seen 3 months earlier. A diagnosis of myointimal hyperplasia secondary to Fogarty balloon catheter injury was made.

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