Traumatic vascular injuries: Methods and results of repair

Abstract

An analysis of thirty-six civilian traumatic arterial injuries was performed to determine the frequency, site, and mechanism of injury. The mechanism of injury was evenly divided between penetrating (nineteen) and blunt injuries (seventeen). Blunt trauma from motor vehicle accidents and penetrating injuries from gunshot wounds accounted for approximately 85 per cent of the injuries. Four of fifteen repairs in lower extremity arterial injuries resulted in amputation. Prolonged ischemia and massive soft tissue injury were the major causes of amputation. Eleven upper extremity arterial injuries were repaired with return of distal pulses in ten patients whereas one patient required subclavian artery ligation after rupture of a saphenous vein graft repair. Approaches for exposure, means of repair, and results are discussed.