Injury to the Superior Gluteal Artery during Intramedullary Fixation of a Proximal Femoral Fracture – A Case Report

INTRODUCTION: Proximal femoral fractures represent a health problem of global proportions. Iatrogenic vascular lesion in the treatment of these fractures is an unusual potentially lethal complication, reported in only 0.2% of trochanteric fractures treated with intramedullary implants. Superior gluteal artery injury is extremely rare, with only two cases reported in literature. CASE REPORT: A 66-year-old Caucasian woman, with metastatic disease, was admitted with a right pertrochanteric fracture. She underwent closed reduction and long intramedullary nail fixation. Five days post-operatively, a sudden hemoglobin drop occurred. A computed tomography demonstrated an extensive hematoma. Angiography confirmed an arterial bleeding from the superior gluteal artery and subsequent selective embolization was successfully performed. CONCLUSION: The presence of anemia and thigh hematoma that progressively worsens post-operatively should raise the diagnostic suspicion of an iatrogenic vascular injury. To the best of our knowledge, this is only the third case reported of superior gluteal artery injury after intramedullary fixation of a proximal femoral fracture. We describe the post-operative course and management strategy and hope this will contribute to the global knowledge and increase awareness of these rare injuries.