Penetrating thoracic great vessel injury: impact of admission hemodynamics and preoperative imaging

Damage control surgery for thoracic outlet vascular injuries: the new resuscitative median sternotomy plus REBOA

Thoracic vascular trauma is associated with high mortality and is the second most common cause of death in patients with trauma following head injuries. Less than 25% of patients with a thoracic vascular injury arrive alive to the hospital and more than 50% die within the first 24 hours. Thoracic trauma with the involvement of the great vessels is a surgical challenge due to the complex and restricted anatomy of these structures and its association with adjacent organ damage. This article aims to delineate the experience obtained in the surgical management of thoracic vascular injuries via the creation of a practical algorithm that includes basic principles of damage control surgery. We have been able to show that the early application of a resuscitative median sternotomy together with a zone 1 resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) in hemodynamically unstable patients with thoracic outlet vascular injuries improves survival by providing rapid stabilization of central aortic pressure and serving as a bridge to hemorrhage control. Damage control surgery principles should also be implemented when indicated, followed by definitive repair once the correction of the lethal diamond has been achieved. To this end, we have developed a six-step management algorithm that illustrates the surgical care of patients with thoracic outlet vascular injuries according to the American Association of the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) classification.

Trap-door incision for penetrating thoracic trauma: an obsolete approach?

Penetrating injuries to the subclavian vessels are uncommon and very severe lesions. They are difficult to expose and carry a high mortality. "Trap-door" incisions have lately been dismissed as too mutilating for the occasional victim of a penetrating thoracic trauma with massive bleeding difficult that is to expose. We present a case of severe bleeding from a stab wound in the left subclavicular area in a heavy-built patient where a "trap-door" incision proved inevitable to expose and repair the injury, and most probably saved his life.

Vascular injuries after blunt chest trauma: diagnosis and management

Background

Although relatively rare, blunt injury to thoracic great vessels is the second most common cause of trauma related death after head injury. Over the last twenty years, the paradigm for management of these devastating injuries has changed drastically. The goal of this review is to update the reader on current concepts of diagnosis and management of blunt thoracic vascular trauma.

Methods

A review of the medical literature was performed to obtain articles pertaining to both blunt injuries of the thoracic aorta and of the non-aortic great vessels in the chest. Articles were chosen based on authors' preference and clinical expertise.

Discussion

Blunt thoracic vascular injury remains highly lethal, with most victims dying prior to reaching a hospital. Those arriving in extremis require immediate intervention, which may include treatment of other associated life threatening injuries. More stable injuries can often be medically temporized in order to optimize definitive management. Endovascular techniques are being employed with increasing frequency and can often significantly simplify management in otherwise very complex patient scenarios.