Injuries In Vietnam Research Articles

Peripheral vascular trauma.

In repairing damaged blood vessels, lifesaving measures take precedence over limb-saving procedures; at exploration, proximal and distal arterial control must be established before repair is attempted; vascular reconstruction is preferable to ligation; and the best evidence of good repair is restoration of the distal pulses. These principles are based on experience with 125 peripheral vascular injuries in Vietnam.

Significance of Complications Associated With Vascular Repairs Performed in Vietnam

Of more than 700 Vietnam casualties with vascular injuries seen at Walter Reed General Hospital, 57 patients with adequately documented complications of their initial arterial repair performed in Vietnam are reviewed. Twenty-four patients required additional vascular operations. Infected vascular repairs usually resulted in hemorrhage from disruption of the vascular repair. Major arterial ligation, required in nine patients, terminated in amputation of three extremities. Thrombosis and stenosis of upper extremity arterial repairs required operative intervention in only four of 27 patients. Concomitant nerve deficits frequently remained the limiting factor. In the lower extremity, thrombosis and stenosis of arterial repairs caused significant intermittent claudication in eight of 13 patients, necessitating additional operative procedures. Periodic evaluation and long-term follow-up of these patients with complications, as well as all patients sustaining vascular injuries in Vietnam are emphasized.

Solid organ injuries in Vietnam. Emergency hemostasis with N-butyl cyanoacrylate adhesive.

The military surgeon occasionally encounters extensive combat wounds of the liver, kidney, or retroperitoneal area where conventional techniques of hemostasis are not adequate. Consequently, extensive resections of the liver, loss of a kidney, or even death may result. At the very least, considerable effort, time and blood are expended in the combat situation where all three are in short supply. The present report describes the clinical trial of an aerosol tissue adhesive spray developed by the US Army for use in achieving rapid hemostasis of the solid organs of combat casualties. The development and experimental testing of these materials has been reported by Leonard et al^1,2and Matsumoto and co-workers.^3-5 <h3>Method</h3> N-Butyl cyanoacrylate is packaged in sterile disposable bottles as a 25% solution in a liquid propellant (carbon tetrafluoride [Freon 14] and dichlorodifluoromethane [Freon 12]). This provides a controllable spray of variable particle size, depending on the rate

Popliteal artery injuries in Vietnam

1. 1. Although generally good results have been obtained in managing more than 2,000 acute vascular injuries in Vietnam, repair of popliteal arteries remains a problem. 2. 2. One hundred fifty of the 300 injuries of the popliteal artery listed in the Vascular Registry are reviewed. 3. 3. Forty-two per cent of patients with these injuries were evaluated at Walter Reed General Hospital, and the remaining patients were evaluated at other hospitals. 4. 4. Associated injuries to bone, nerves, soft tissue, and veins are frequent and have a significant effect on the outcome in extremities with popliteal artery injuries. 5. 5. Of the 124 initial repairs performed in Vietnam, early thrombosis occurred in 34. 6. 6. Delayed recognition of injuries occurred in 7.3 per cent of the patients (eleven false aneurysms and arteriovenous fistulas). 7. 7. The over-all amputation rate for 150 popliteal artery injuries was 32 per cent.

Surgical and pathological evaluation of vascular injuries in Vietnam.

Surgical and pathological evaluation of vascular injuries in Vietnam.

Anesthetic management of civilian injuries in Vietnam.

Anesthetic management of civilian injuries in Vietnam.