Citation

Brown KR, Jean-Claude J, Seabrook GR, Towne JB, Cambria RA. Ann. Vasc. Surg. 2001; 15(1): 43-48.

Affiliation

Department of Vascular Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s100160010016

PMID

11221943

Abstract

This is a retrospective chart review of 71 patients who were operated on for presumed upper extremity arterial trauma between June 1992 and June 1998. Penetrating trauma occurred in 50 (70%) patients, and blunt trauma in 21 (30%). There were 2 innominate, 6 subclavian, 13 axillary, 26 brachial, 5 radial, 6 ulnar, and 6 multiple arterial injuries. There were 7 negative explorations (4 venous injuries, 2 false-positive angiograms, and 1 branch artery injury). In addition to the vascular injury, 44 patients (69%) had another injury in the extremity, including 8 (12.5%) orthopedic injuries, 12 (19%) nerve injuries, and 24 (37.5%) combination nerve and orthopedic injuries. There were three arterial thromboses, one arterial disruption, and four amputations, resulting in a patency rate and limb salvage rate of 94%. Persistent disability was more common in those patients with blunt injury (p = 0.02) and in those patients with associated neurologic and orthopedic injuries (p < 0.05). Full functional recovery was seen in 21 (33%) patients, while some form of disability was noted in the remaining 67%. The magnitude of the concomitant neurologic injury was the major determinate of functional outcome in this patient population.

Language: en