Hematoma

[Ben-W]

  My grandmother had the angioplasty with stents done about a year ago and
  began to feel some improvement in some of the swellings she had been getting.
  She did have a lot of trouble though with the artery not healing correctly
  where the incision was made.  She developed a hematoma and it was several
  months before it appeared to heal itself.
  Now a year later, I just found out that two days ago she had to go to the
  emergency and is now in the hospital.  She developed swelling, and discoloration
  of the skin.  The report is that the hematoma has not only reoccured, but
  an aneurysm of the vein where the incision was made in the groin for the
  angioplasty.  The hematoma is enormous and the doctor is very concerned and
  is sending a sample out to be tested.  He doesn't know what it is.  Right
  now she is having some of the fluid drained and is receiving some kind of
  I-V.  The bag says, "Ances Galaxy Iso-Osmotic".  Is this just a regular I-V
  kind of fluid, or an antibiotic?  What would cause such a hematoma to develop?
  Do you have any ideas?

[CCF Cardio MD-SGM]

Dear Ben,
About one to two percent of cardiac catheterizations are complicated by vascular problems such as hematomas involving the artery used to gain access into the circulation.  It is extremely unusual for this problem to occur a year after the catheterization, and the two events might not be related.  Hematomas are large blood clots that form when there is bleeding around the puncture site.  In some cases, something known as a fistula can occur, with blood flowing from the artery into the adjacent vein.  Also, aneurysms or pseudoaneurysms describe conditions where there is an outpouching of the artery, usually at the site of puncture.  
Aneurysms can be corrected by a small procedure performed by a vascular surgeon.  During the procedure, the surgeon can inspect the artery for any other problems that might cause aneurysms, including infection and degenerative changes.  The fluid that you mention is likely saline, a salt/water mixture that approximates the qualities of the plasma in our blood.  
Best of luck.  Information in the Heart Forum is for general purposes.  Specific diagnoses and therapies can only be provided by your physician.