Original article
English
S. Shaffuddin, F.S. Rakas
Department of Surgery, Arab Medical University, Benghazi, Libya.
Garyounis Medical Journal Vol. 9, No.2. January 1986: 63-66
Abstract
Blood vessel injuries, when missed, can lead to the development of false aneurysms or arteriovenous fistulae. Five patients sustained penetrating injuries along the course of their blood vessels and the injury to the vessels was overlooked when they were first seen. These patients were later admitted to the hospital for profuse haemorrhage and increasing swelling at the site of the original trauma. Two of these patients were found to have false aneurysms of the left superficial femoral artery and the right anterior tibial artery, with arteriovenous communication with their corresponding veins. The other two patients had false aneurysms of the right external carotid artery and the right popliteal artery. The fifth patient had an ulnas artery aneurysm over the right wrist.
In three patients the arteries were reconstructed and in the other two the injured arteries were ligated. The danger of undetected vascular trauma leading to either the development of false aneurysms or arteriovenous fistulae, with their associated complications of haemorrhage and/or ischaemia of the distal extremity, is stressed.
Keywords: Traumatic Aneurysms from Undetected Vascular Injuries
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