[Spontaneous rupture of the femoral artery after radiotherapy: a case report].

Abstract

Radiation-induced arteriopathy is a well-known disease whose incidence is not known and which usually arises chronically many years after radiation therapy. When it arises acutely, spontaneous rupture or, more rarely, thrombosis of the involved vessel may occur. Spontaneous rupture can occur within 4 to 32 weeks of radiotherapy, and usually affects the carotid artery involved in radiotherapy of the neck and head. Spontaneous rupture of the femoral artery is a very rare event and only a few cases have been reported in the literature. In this paper we report a case of spontaneous rupture of the left femoral superficial artery after adjuvant radiotherapy following surgery for a liposarcoma of the spermatic cord with multiple local recurrences, successfully treated with an extra-anatomic bypass through the obturator canal and rectal muscle flap.