Sidra Shabbir, Shabana Jamal, Israr Ahmed, Zainab Mahsal Khan, Tanwir Khaliq.
Outcome of vascular trauma at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad.
Ann Pak Inst Med Sci Jan ;7(1):29-32.

Background: Vascular trauma is a common cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Its incidence has increased considerably during last 40 years. There are few accurate quantitative data available presently on the nature and outcome of these injuries. The present study was undertaken to analyze the outcome of vascular trauma. Study Design: Descriptive study Study Place and Duration: It conducted at Surgical Unit IV, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad from June 2007 to December 2009. Materials and Methods: All 32 patients who suffered a vascular injury requiring surgical intervention were included. Primary vascular repair was carried out where possible; if not interposition vein graft was placed. Early liberal fasciotomy was considered as and when required. Patients with isolated venous trauma and patients with obviously unsalvageable lower extremity injury requiring primary amputation were excluded from the study. Results: There were 28 males and 4 females with mean age of 25±3 years. Firearm injuries account for 60% of all cases, followed by road traffic accidents injuries. The femoral artery was the most frequently injured, constituting 25% of all cases. Interposition vein graft was done in 19 (59.4%) patients and primary end-to-end anastomosis was done in 9 (28.1%) patients. Lateral repair was done in 3 (9.4%) patients while in one (3.1%) patient prosthetic graft was used. Limb amputation rate was 6.25% and mortality rate was 15.6%. Conclusion: Vascular trauma represents a small percentage of all surgical admissions and almost all such patients require surgical intervention. Firearm injury was most common mechanism involved. A properly staffed trauma center providing a multidisciplinary approach for such vascular injuries can lead to an improved outcome.

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