# Post-traumatic pseudoaneurysm of the anterior tibial artery: therapeutic challenge

## TL;DR

A rare case of a traumatic pseudoaneurysm in the anterior tibial artery is described, highlighting the importance of early diagnosis and surgical treatment.

## Contribution

The paper presents a unique clinical case of a subacute traumatic pseudoaneurysm in the infrapatellar arteries and emphasizes the need for early detection.

## Key findings

- A 25-year-old patient developed a pseudoaneurysm after a glass shard injury to the lower limb.
- Venous Doppler ultrasound ruled out thrombosis but identified a pseudoaneurysm in the anterior tibial artery.
- Surgical intervention with hematoma drainage and arterial suturing was successful.

## Abstract

Subacute traumatic arterial pseudoaneurysms involving the infragenicular arteries are rarely discussed in the literature because they tend to be asymptomatic or manifest clinically subtle symptoms even at late stages. We describe the case of a 25-year-old patient with a perforation injury to the lower limb from a shard of glass, who, after two weeks, developed pain and swelling in the limb, which suggested deep vein thrombosis. Venous Doppler ultrasound ruled out thrombosis but revealed heterogeneous echogenicity in the anterior wall of the middle third of the anterior tibial artery with internal flow, suggesting a pseudoaneurysm. We opted for conventional surgical treatment and, after proximal and distal control of the artery, drainage of the local hematoma and primary suturing of the lesion were performed. Pseudoaneurysm of the infrapatellar arteries, although rare, is a challenging clinical entity that requires early diagnosis.

Pseudoaneurismas arteriais traumáticos de apresentação subaguda que envolvem as artérias infrageniculares são raramente abordados na literatura, devido à sua tendência de serem assintomáticos ou manifestarem sintomas clinicamente sutis em estágios tardios. Descrevemos o caso de uma paciente de 25 anos, com lesão perfurante no membro inferior provocada por estilhaço de vidro, que, após 2 semanas, apresentou dor e edema no membro, levando à suspeita de trombose venosa profunda. A ultrassonografia com Doppler venoso descartou a hipótese de trombose, porém revelou uma imagem com ecogenicidade heterogênea na parede anterior do terço médio da artéria tibial anterior, com fluxo em seu interior, sugerindo pseudoaneurisma. Optou-se por tratamento cirúrgico convencional e, após controle proximal e distal da artéria, procedeu-se à drenagem do hematoma local e à arteriorrafia primária da lesão puntiforme. O pseudoaneurisma das artérias infrapatelares, embora raro, destaca-se como uma entidade clínica desafiadora que requer diagnóstico precoce.