Isolated celiac artery injury: Brief report, review of literature, and suggested grading guidelines

Abstract

Blunt traumatic dissection of the celiac artery without aortic dissection is a rare event. There is paucity of data on the appropriate management of such injuries. In this brief report, we present a patient with isolated celiac artery dissection after blunt abdominal trauma. The patient was managed non-operatively with anticoagulation and developed splenic infarct. Due to its rarity, no grading criteria and management guidelines exist for the spectrum of isolated blunt CA injuries. Furthermore, it remains unlikely that injury volume will increase to create robust management guidelines. We therefore suggest that isolated celiac artery injury be graded based on the Biffl grading criteria for blunt cerebrovascular injury and managed accordingly.