Abstract: Background; Femoral arterial catheterization (FAC) in dogs often involves ligation of the femoral artery; long-term impacts of ligation on limb perfusion are unknown. Hypothesis – Dogs with femoral artery ligation have altered limb perfusion compared to repaired dogs. Animals – 18 dogs with previous history of right FAC (ligated=9; repaired=9). Methods – Prospective clinical trial. Noninvasive blood pressure (BP) was measured by Doppler, followed by vascular ultrasound of both legs. Dynamic perfusion computed tomography involved 700 mg I/kg contrast bolus followed by 1 ml/kg saline bolus; volume datasets were acquired every 1.5 seconds for 40 acquisitions. Results – All dogs had FAC for occlusion of patent arterial duct. Median (IQR) age at time of FAC was 5.3 (3.7-7.3) months; median time since FAC was 38.3 (20.5-59.2) months. Right vs left pelvic limb BP was not different in ligated dogs (right=127 +/- 17; left=138 +/- 16 mmHg; P=0.19), or repaired dogs (right=127 +/- 28; left=139 +/- 25 mmHg; P=0.32). Peak arterial flow velocity in ligated dogs was reduced (P< 0.0001) in the right (37.8 +/- 24.3 cm/sec) compared to the left (126.9 +/- 29.1 cm/sec) but was not different between limbs in repaired dogs (right=132.0 +/- 37.4; left=124.0 +/- 45.6; P=0.689). Ligated dogs had extensive collateral perfusion, via caudal gluteal and deep femoral arteries. Conclusions – Perfusion of the pelvic limb is altered after femoral arterial ligation; femoral arterial flow is reduced, and extensive collateralization develops. The functional relevance of these findings requires further study.
