Pseudoaneurysm of the Posterior Tibial Artery following Removal of Tibial Plate- A Rare Case.

INTRODUCTION: Pseudoaneurysm is a rare complication reported after any surgery such as ORIF of fracture, plate removal, ankle or knee arthroscopy or arthroplasty. To our knowledge, pseudoaneurysms of the posterior tibial artery after tibial plate removal are a rare phenomenon. We report a case of a 18-year-old male patient who had pseudoaneurysm of posterior tibial artery following plate removal.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 18-year-old male was referred to our outpatient clinic because of mass-like lesion in his left calf. He had a history of car accident and left isolated tibia fracture 30 months ago that was treated by open reduction and internal fixation with DCP plate. After union in radiograph, the plate was removed 7 months ago on the patient request. Four weeks after surgery, the patient had complaints of pain and swelling. Finally, pseudoaneurysm was diagnosed and was repaired in a common surgery with a vascular surgeon without any difficulty.

CONCLUSION: Pseudoaneurysms of the posterior tibial artery after tibial plate removal are an extremely rare phenomenon. This complication in most cases follows penetrating injuries but it has been reported following blunt trauma. In fact, in most of these patients the diagnosis was initially missed because the large hematoma concealed the underlying pseudoaneurysm and its pulsations. Thus, a delay in the diagnosis is common in this phenomenon. Hence, the surgeon should be suspicious to this complication following plate removal when he/she is doubtful about the sign and symptoms.