Injuries to the Peripheral Blood Vessels

Abstract

Contributions from the armed conflicts of the 20th century have defined the standards for vessel ligation or repair of arterial and venous injuries. Since the Vietnam War, there has been considerable modernization in the battlefield medical environment, and forward surgical capability, expeditious evacuation and new and effective resuscitation strategies have provided the foundation for innovation and progress. Lessons learned during current US military operations continue to advance the practice of vascular trauma surgery, and these techniques are directly translated to surgical practices in trauma centers around the world. This review covers mechanisms and sites of extremity vascular injury,  initial assessment,  management, and special considerations. Figures show an avulsion injury, in which an artery is stretched, an algorithm for the workup of a patient with a potential extremity vascular injury, an algorithm for the management of complex extremity trauma, exposure of the axillary artery, exposure of the brachial artery, exposure of the femoral artery, medial exposure of the proximal and distal popliteal arteries, the two-incision technique for lower leg decompression in compartment syndrome, and incisions for forearm decompression in compartment syndrome. This review contains 11 figures, 6 tables, and 84 references