Abstract: Background- Transcatheter occlusion is the treatment of choice for patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in dogs. Following PDA occlusion, it is commonplace to ligate the femoral artery at the arterial puncture site. Ligation appears to be clinically well-tolerated by patients, however there are no published data comparing femoral artery ligation to repair. Hypothesis/Objectives- Repairing the femoral artery results in improved hindlimb perfusion and less hindlimb dysfunction when compared to ligation. Animals- Eleven client-owned dogs (> 5 kg) underwent transcatheter device occlusion of left-to-right shunting PDA. Five dogs underwent femoral arterial repair, and 6 dogs underwent arterial ligation. Methods- Orthopedic examination, static posturography, thigh girth measurement, creatinine kinase, infrared thermography, and vascular ultrasound were performed at baseline, 1 day, 10-14 days, and 90 days post-procedure. Results- Diagnostic results were reviewed in a blinded fashion. The changes in outcome variables were compared over time using mixed effect models. There was significantly increased blood flow to the distal limb on vascular ultrasound in patients with arterial repair. Of the ligation group, partial return of femoral artery flow was observed in 44.4% of dogs at 90 days post-ligation. The remainder of the diagnostics performed did not reveal clinically significant differences between groups at post-op timepoints (Day 1, Day 10-14, Day 90). Conclusion and Clinical Importance- In the short-term, femoral artery ligation appears to be well tolerated with no clinically appreciable deficits in hindlimb perfusion and function in dogs undergoing PDA occlusion. It is uncertain whether clinically significant differences occur long-term for these patients.
