Iatrogenic pseudoaneurysm in the upper arm: treatment by transcatheter embolization

A 32-year-old woman presented with a pulsatile, painful mass in her left upper arm, originating several days after removal of an Ilizarov external fixation. The diagnosis of a pseudoaneurysm was made by medical history and by physical and ultrasonographic examination of the mass. Angiography confirmed the presence of the pseudoaneurysm, originating from a branch of the arteria profunda brachii, and definitive treatment was performed by transcatheter embolization. Clinical follow-up showed absence of pulsation and pain in the upper arm and a gradual volume decrease of the mass lesion.