Clinical features of tibial and peroneal artery injuries are characterized in a review of 51 patients with 82 injured arteries. Injuries were penetrating in 34 (67%) patients and blunt in 17 (33%). Physical findings suggested arterial injuries in 42 (82%) patients, but nine had no signs of vascular trauma. Nineteen patients with no palpable distal pulses had average preoperative delays of nearly 5 hours, suggesting a lack of appreciation for the morbid potential of these injuries. Operations included ligations of single-vessel injuries and arterial reconstructions in the 21 (41%) patients with two or more injured vessels. Amputations were necessary in eight (16%) patients. Limb loss was more frequent with blunt trauma (23%), shotgun wounds (33%), initial absent pulses (32%), and three injured vessels (60%). The frequency of limb loss with these injuries emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis, expedient operation, and thorough revascularization.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Keeley et al. (1983) studied this question.