Complications of Femoral Artery Cannulation, US-Guided Complications include Hematoma Infection Damage to the artery Thrombosis (due to the catheter itself) Embolism (cholesterol) during guide-wire insertion Ischemia Arterial puncture Nerve damage Air embolism (eg, occurring during flushing of catheters) Catheter misplacement Bladder or bowel perforation To reduce the risk of catheter sepsis, femoral artery catheters should be removed as soon as they are no longer needed.