Persistent sciatic artery is a rare congenital anomaly of the circulatory system. Since there are few cases described in the literature, there is no consensus on diagnostic and treatment methods. The authors report on a 59-year-old male patient with history of progressive intermittent claudication in the right calf, associated with pulsatile mass in the popliteal fossa and absence of distal pulses. Tomography angiography of the abdominal aorta and lower limbs showed persistent right sciatic artery. Selective digital subtraction angiography of the sciatic artery was also performed for surgical planning. The patient was submitted to femorofibular bypass with reverse ipsilateral great saphenous vein and ligation of the sciatic artery in the pelvis using retroperitoneal approach.Key words: Persistent sciatic artery, sciatic artery aneurysm, surgical correction, peripheral ischemia. ResumoA persistência da artéria isquiática é uma anomalia congênita rara do sistema circulatório, sendo descritos poucos casos na literatura e não existindo, assim, consenso sobre métodos diagnósticos e de tratamento. Os autores apresentam o caso de um paciente masculino, de 59 anos de idade, com história de dor tipo "claudicação intermitente" progressiva em panturrilha direita, associada a uma massa pulsátil em fossa poplítea e ausência de pulsos distais. A angiotomografia da aorta abdominal e dos membros inferiores revelou persistência da artéria isquiática à direita, sendo realizada, ainda, angiografia com subtração digital seletiva da artéria isquiática para o planejamento cirúrgico. O paciente foi submetido à ponte fêmoro-fibular com veia safena magna ipsolateral reversa e ligadura da artéria isquiática na pelve, por acesso retroperitoneal.Palavras-chave: Persistência da artéria isquiática, aneurisma da artéria isquiática, terapêutica cirúrgica, isquemia periférica. RELATO DE CASO

Mechanical thrombectomy offers the advantage of rapid removal of venous thrombi. It allows venous obstructions to be removed and requires shorter duration of infusion of thrombolytic agents. However, aspiration of thrombi can lead to complications, particularly pulmonary embolism and hemolysis. The validity of using vena cava filters during thrombectomy in order to avoid embolism has not yet been established. The authors report a case of massive pulmonary embolism associated with ischemic stroke in a patient with a hitherto undiagnosed patent foramen ovale. The patient developed respiratory failure and neurological deficit after thrombectomy. This case raise questions about the value of the thrombectomy for the treatment of proximal vein thrombosis due to the risks of this procedure. The authors also discuss the need for vena cava filters and ruling out a patent foramen ovale in patients undergoing thrombectomy.Keywords: thrombectomy; mechanical thrombolysis; pulmonary embolism; stroke. ResumoA trombectomia mecânica tem a vantagem de levar à rápida remoção dos trombos. Permite a desobstrução venosa e a redução do tempo de infusão de trombolíticos. A aspiração dos trombos pode levar a complicações, principalmente embolia pulmonar e hemólise. Algo que não está definido é a validade do uso de filtros de veia cava durante a trombectomia, com o objetivo de evitar a TEP maciça. Os autores relatam um caso de embolia pulmonar maciça associada a AVC isquêmico, em uma paciente que apresentava forame oval patente. Não havia o diagnóstico prévio da PFO. A paciente evoluiu com insuficiência respiratória e déficit neurológico logo após a trombectomia. Neste caso, questiona-se o valor da trombectomia para o tratamento da trombose venosa proximal, devido aos riscos deste procedimento. Os autores discutem sobre a necessidade de filtro de veia cava e sobre a pesquisa de forame oval nos pacientes que serão submetidos à trombectomia.Palavras-chave: trombectomia; trombólise mecânica; embolia pulmonar; acidente vascular cerebral.

Introduction: Femoral pseudoaneurysms are a complication that occurs in connection with up to 8% of percutaneous procedures. Of the available treatments, ultrasound guided thrombin injection has a high success rate and is welltolerated by patients. The combination of thrombin and fibrinogen known as fibrin sealant forms a stable clot and can be used to treat pseudoaneurysms, particularly those with complex anatomy and larger size. Objective: To compare the results of treating femoral pseudoaneurysm in two ways: Group T was treated with thrombin alone and Group T+F was treated with fibrin sealant (thrombin+fibrinogen). Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of femoral pseudoaneurysm cases treated between January 2005 and December 2012. Results: Twenty-eight patients were treated, 21 with thrombin alone and seven with fibrin sealant. All patients in group T were treated successfully, but only four patients in group T+F were treated successfully (57.1% success rate in Group T+F, p<0.01). The three cases of failure in group T+F needed surgery and in one of these cases the complication was embolization to the femoral bifurcation. The pseudoaneurysms that were treated with fibrin sealant were larger (25 cm 3 in Group T and 57.7 cm 3 in Group T+F, p=0.02) and required larger volumes of thrombin (0.5 mL in Group T and 1.0 mL in Group T+F, p<0.01). There was one complication in Group T and two complications in Group T+F (p<0.01). Conclusions: Irrespective of the small number of cases reviewed, treatment with thrombin alone was superior to treating with fibrin sealant, since it caused few complications and was more effective at correcting pseudoaneurysms.