Purpose: To report a case of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) complicated by stent-graft thrombosis.
Case report: An 82-year-old woman underwent endovascular aortic aneurysm repair using a Zenith stent-graft. She returned 2 weeks later with an occluded graft limb, large quantities of thrombus lining the remainder of the stent-graft, thrombocytopenia, and antiplatelet antibodies. There were no signs of kinking or compression of the graft, nor was there any thrombosis of the native arteries downstream from the occluded graft limb. Thrombolysis restored graft patency. Anticoagulation was induced using hirudin and warfarin. The graft remains patent at 6-month follow-up.
Conclusion: HIT is a rare cause of postoperative endograft thrombosis. In this case, the presumed source of the inciting heparin dosage was the stent-graft itself, which had been soaked in a concentrated heparin solution prior to insertion.