Evaluation of Extremity Vascular Injuries and Treatment Approaches

Abstract

Background: Vascular injuries are commonly seen in both emergency services and forensic medicine practise. They are often life-threatening, with high morbidity and mortality rates. Aims: This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate extremity vascular injuries and the associated treatment approaches. Methods: After obtaining approval from the ethics committee of the university, those patients admitted to the emergency department of Adiyaman between 1 February 2013 and 31 August 2018 were included in this study. The patients' data were obtained through the electronic records system, and the cases were evaluated according to the age, gender and cause of injury, including blunt force trauma injuries (accidents, traffic accidents, crush injuries and occupational accidents) and penetrating injuries (stabbing, gunshot wounds, suicide attempts and assaults). Additionally, the injuries were evaluated based on the extremity, according to the anatomical location and whether the injury was life-threatening. Results: This study included 76 patients with extremity vascular injuries; 65 were males (85.52%), 11 were females (14.48%) and their average age was 33.24 +/- 15.85 years. Forty-five (59.2%) of the patients had upper extremity vascular injuries, and 31 (40.3%) had lower extremity vascular injuries. In addition to arterial injuries, 26 (34.21%) of the patients had venous injuries and 22 (28.94%) had nerve injuries. Nine of these patients had neurological deficits due to their nerve injuries. All of the patients were revascularized within 3-5 hours, and none of the patients required amputations. Conclusion: The primary goals in extremity vessel injury cases are to prevent mortality, especially after major vascular injuries, and save the extremity from amputation. With a fast, effective and multi-disciplinary approach, an accurate diagnosis and effective surgical intervention can prevent morbidity and mortality as well as reduce the rate of undesirable complications.