title: Obturator artery injury after hip fracture surgery.
abstract: We present the case of a 55-year-old woman who sustained a left femoral neck fracture which was managed by insertion of a dynamic hip screw. Six hours after surgery, distension appeared in the left lower quadrant of her abdomen associated with a decline in haemoglobin concentration and clinical signs of ongoing bleeding. Computed tomography showed a left retroperitoneal mass without concomitant extravasation of contrast material. Exploratory laparotomy revealed a damaged left obturator artery with a large haematoma in its vicinity. After arterial ligation and retroperitoneal space decompression her postoperative course was uneventful. Reviewing intraoperative C arm images a 0.8 cm protrusion of the threaded guide wire was identified as the cause of obturator artery damage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Trauma Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of P.J. Šafarik, Košice - Slovak Republic. rado17@post.sk
authors.forename: Radoslav
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Morochovič
authors.forename: Rastislav
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Burda
authors.forename: Carroll
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Christie
authors.forename: Natália
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Šimková
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lakyová
authors.forename: Vladimír
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sihotský
authors.forename: Róbert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dankovčík
authors.forename: Luboš
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tomčovčík
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hako
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries*; D005592:Fracture Fixation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D057772:Vascular System Injuries / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery