Femoral artery pseudoaneurysm: Doppler sonographic features predictive for spontaneous thrombosis

Purpose. The objective of this prospective study was to evaluate whether Doppler imaging characteristics can be used to predict spontaneous thrombosis of femoral artery pseudoaneurysms (PAs). Methods. Eleven post-cardiac catheterization PAs were monitored with color Doppler sonography. Total volume of the lesion, volume filled with free-flowing blood, length and width of the neck of the PA, and its anatomic position were evaluated. Results. All of the PAs in our series underwent spontaneous thrombosis. PAs with necks 0.9 cm or longer underwent spontaneous thrombosis in 9.8 days on average, while PAs with necks shorter than 0.9 cm required an average of 52 days to thrombose. Conclusions. PAs with longer neck lengths are more likely to thrombose in a shorter period than are those with shorter necks. It may thus be worthwhile to await spontaneous resolution when the aneurysmal neck length is 0.9 cm or more.