Renal artery injury from a Fogarty balloon catheter

A variety of complications secondary to thromboembolectomy with balloon catheters have been described. The present report describes an unusual and previously unreported complication following retrograde thrombectomy of an occluded limb of an aortofemoral graft. The variety of arterial injuries and technical misadventures attributable to balloon catheters are briefly discussed, and suggestions are made for avoiding the particular problem encountered in the patient described.