title: Vascular occlusion by ruptured balloon after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report a rare case of chronic vascular occlusion by an undetected ruptured balloon fragment following percutaneous transluminal angioplasty.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Vascular Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Ruprecht-Karls University, Heidelberg, Germany. johannes.gahlen@chir.ma.uni-heidelberg.de
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gahlen
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koeppel
authors.forename: Ruediger L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Prosst
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000792:Angiography; D000800:Angioplasty, Balloon / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000295:instrumentation; D001157:Arterial Occlusive Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy*; D002404:Catheterization / Q000009:adverse effects*; D020878:Device Removal; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005263:Femoral Artery; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006083:Graft Occlusion, Vascular / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007383:Intermittent Claudication / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016896:Treatment Outcome