Coiling of the brachial artery: an uncommon cause of difficult thrombectomy

Coiling (or looping) of the artery is a rare morphologic entity, most frequently described in the internal carotid artery. In other arteries, coiling is rarely reported because it remains asymptomatic and without clinical relevance unless inadvertently injured, as for diagnostic or monitoring purposes. We present a case of an unusually difficult thrombectomy of the brachial artery after occlusion following withdrawal of the arterial cannula placed for monitoring during cardiac surgery owing to coiling of the distal part of the artery, which produced the "spring-squeeze phenomenon" during balloon catheter thrombectomy.