Peripheral vascular injuries and their management in accra

Vascular Shunt for Small Vessel Trauma in a Polytrauma Patient

A 15-year-old male patient presented with multiple gunshot injuries. The patient underwent emergency lifesaving exploratory laparotomy and subsequently needed repair of his left upper limb ulnar artery injury. A shunt helped restore blood flow to the hand in a setting of damage control surgery in an exsanguinating patient with an ulnar artery injury having a massive disruption. After resuscitation, the patient underwent definitive repair of the artery using a vein interposition graft.

Pattern of Extremity Arterial Injury and Outcome of Repair in Southwest, Nigeria

Background:

Extremity arterial injuries are an important cause of loss of life/limb after trauma. Early intervention is important for the good outcome.

Objectives:

The objective of this study is to review the pattern of presentation and study the factors that influences the outcome of extremity arterial injuries in our hospital.

Patients and Methods:

This is a retrospective study of all patients with injuries to the extremity arteries requiring surgical intervention from July 2007 to June 2015. Data obtained included biodata, ischemic time, arteries involved, surgical intervention, and outcomes and analyzed using SPSS version 22.

Setting:

Our hospital is the main referral hospital for vascular trauma serving four adjoining states in Nigeria and is linked to major cities by at least 3 Trunk-A federal roads.

Subjects:

The subjects are patients who were managed in our cardiovascular surgical unit for the study duration (July 2007–June 2015) who had extremity arterial injuries.

Results:

A total of 36 patients presenting with 40 arterial injuries in 37 limbs were studied. The mean age was 28.4 ± 10.3 years with male preponderance (88.9%). Gunshot injuries were the most common cause of arterial injuries (37.8%), followed by assault (27%). The mean time from injury to presentation for acute injuries was 20.4 h but 23 of the patients (63.8%) presented to the accident and emergency department within 12 h of injury. A limb salvage rate of 64.9% was achieved though ischemic times of ≥12 h were associated with poor outcomes.

Conclusion:

Prolonged ischemic time is associated with poor outcomes. Efforts should be put in place to reduce the limb ischemic times.

Delayed brachial artery reconstruction after traumatic injury: a case for sustainment of surgical intervention

The brachial artery is the commonest artery injured in the extremities. Although the patients present late, nevertheless reconstructions is advocated in other to salvage the limb and maintain function of the hand. We retrospectively examined 25 consecutive patients with vascular injuries treated at The Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Unit of a tertiary health centre over a period of 4 years. We assessed the pre-tertiary methods of stopping of bleeding injured brachial arteries, mechanisms of injury, associated injuries, treatment and the outcome following vascular repair in terms of functionality of the forearm and the volume of the radial pulsation. A total of 12 patients (48.0%) had brachial artery injuries out of the 25 patients with different forms of vascular injuries during the period. There were 10 males and 2 females, aged 7.5-65 years. The aetiology of the brachial artery injuries were: Glass cut in 5 patients, knife cut in 3 patients, surgical complication of tendon release (iatrogenic) in 1 patient, injury from self injection of pentazocine in 1 patient, machete cut in 1 patient and blunt vascular injury from fan belt injury in 1 patient. Except for the young girl whose brachial artery was injured at surgery, and had lateral repair done within 3hours, the timing between injury and repair in the remaining 11 patients ranged between 6-288 hours. This was beyond the golden time in trauma cases. Two patients had the brachial artery revascularised using the Reversed Saphenous Vein Graft (RSVG). The wrist pulsation was small volume in one patient as felt by palpation before discharge though the forearm was viable. Otherwise the remaining patients’ outcome was good. Most of the patients with brachial artery injury present late following injury. Revascularisation beyond the golden hour is still desirable as it will help to prevent limb loss. Plans should be put in place to train vascular surgeon to encourage prompt and expertise care.

Giant Pseudoaneurysm Associated with Arteriovenous Fistula of the Brachial and Femoral Arteries following Gunshot Wounds: Report of Two Cases

Posttraumatic pseudoaneurysm associated with arteriovenous fistula of the upper or lower limb is exceptional. We are reporting herein the history of two cases in civil life that have been followed and repaired in our service. Both patients were shot more than a year before being referred to our tertiary hospital for an enlarging mass which was a pseudoaneurysm associated with an arteriovenous fistula. The aneurysm was repaired and the fistula closed. Due to the absence of well-trained professionals, vascular injuries and their complications are usually discovered late in Cameroon while these pseudoaneurysms can reach very dramatic sizes. This presentation intends to raise the attention on a careful clinical exam and search of vascular lesion in the case of penetrating wound of the limb associated with profuse bleeding.

The delayed management of main arterial injuries in extremity trauma: Surgical challenges and outcomes

Objective: To analyse the early outcome of main arterial injuries with delayed treatment in extremity trauma and help vascular surgeons in determining proper treatment strategy for such injuries.

Methodology: Forty-three patients with delayed treatment of main arterial injuries during May 2003 and January 2008 were reviewed retrospectively.

Results: In 43 patients, injuries were caused by blunt trauma in 26 cases and penetrating trauma in 17 cases. The maximum ischaemia time was 38 hours and the minimum was 13 hours. Eight patients underwent primary amputations and four patients underwent secondary amputation. There was no perioperative mortality, while wound infection occurred in five patients, followed by graft occlusion in four patients, arteriovenous fistulae in two patients and pseudoaneurysm in one patient.

Conclusion: The delayed intervention in main arterial injuries is associated with higher risk of amputation, while the suitable surgical techniques may decrease the risk of limb loss. Viable limbs should be revascularized in otherwise stable patients even with long periods of ischaemia.

Acute ischemia of the lower limb after injury by gunshot: case report and review of literature

INTRODUCTION

Civilian and military vascular trauma has evolved dramatically. It is estimated that 80% of all cases of vascular injuries are due to peripheral vascular trauma, most involving the lower extremities. Arterial below-knee injuries by gunshot still remain a challenge, with an associated rate of amputation of 20-54%.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This case reports a 48 year-old male patient who sustained a gunshot below his left knee. At hospital admission, loss of substance and hemorrhage at the medial and lateral faces of the upper third of his left leg were present with signs of distal ischemia. Arteriography revealed infra-popliteal arterial lesions of the three arterial axes. Two reversed great saphenous vein interposition grafts were performed into the anterior and posterior tibial arteries with immediate revascularization of the left leg and foot. Later, soft tissue reconstruction was accomplished by a split-thickness skin graft.

RESULTS

At the fifth month of follow-up, the left leg and foot were viable with good healing, without limitations and with controlled pain. Posterior tibial and dorsalis pedis pulses were palpable.

CONCLUSION

This case report shows the importance of an adequate team approach for treatment of a gunshot extremity injury with vascular lesion. The authors want to highlight the scientific background evidence and the value of comparing worldwide civilian trauma center outcomes, mostly reported previously from the military field.