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Updated: Aug 22, 2026

The Transition to an Anterior-Based Muscle Sparing Approach Improves Early Postoperative Function but is Associated with a Learning Curve
Published on: September 7, 2022
The femoral gateway
Anthony A Cauchi1, Viral V Patel, Abraham Verghese
1Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA.
Abstract:
A patient who abused cocaine intravenously had an abscess in the groin, which healed to form a sinus tract leading directly to the wall of the femoral vein. She used this "gateway" as her primary means of venous access for the next 5 years. It was both "painless and brainless" and led to femoral vein thrombosis and sepsis. This is the second reported case of such a unique means of venous access.
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