Papers of the Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery: Scientific

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Papers: An Experience with Upper-Extremity Vascular *Trauma.* Cikrit-Dolores-F. Dalsing-Michael-C. Bryant-Benjamin-J. The American Journal of Surgery. 1990 Aug. 160(2). pp 229-233. In this 6-year study of 101 limbs requiring surgical intervention for upper-extremity vascular *trauma,* most patients were male, young, and injured by penetrating objects. Injured vessels included 13 axillary/subclavian, 23 brachial, 40 radial, and 25 ulnar arteries. Concomitant injuries included nerve injury in 50 cases, tendon laceration in 29, and bony fracture in 11. *Arterial* repair was accomplished by primary repair in 54 limbs, vein graft in 26 limbs, and vein patch in 3 limbs. Seventeen *arterial* injuries were ligated. Ancillary procedures included 30 nerve or 27 tendon repairs. The limb salvage rate was 99 per cent. No functional deficits were noted in those cases with only a vascular injury. In 64 per cent and 25 per cent of patients with nerve or musculoskeletal injury, respectively, the arm was functionally impaired. Prompt diagnosis and surgical intervention eliminate vascular injury as a factor in upper-extremity limb loss or disability. Functional deficits are the result of nerve or orthopedic injuries.