Vascular occlusion by ruptured balloon after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty

Purpose: To report a rare case of chronic vascular occlusion by an undetected ruptured balloon fragment following percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. Case Report: A 79-year-old man suffered from calf claudication 1 year after angioplasty for a short stenosis in the superficial femoral artery. During the femoropopliteal bypass operation, a ruptured angioplasty balloon was retrieved. Conclusions: Endovascular treatment of arterial lesions always requires thorough pre and postinterventional check of the applied instrumentation. A damaged catheter must initiate an immediate search for lost intravascular objects.