Clinical Profile of Extremity Vascular Surgeries at Trivandrum Medical College

BACKGROUND One of the most common emergency diseases is traumatic vascular injury. The damage mechanism is linked to the environment and the time frame. The treatment of vascular injury is evolving in tandem with the passage of time. In short, vascular injury treatment ranges from simple to complex, and from simple to diverse. Patients suffering from vascular injury can now benefit from advanced medical equipment. Traditional treatments, on the other hand, continue to play an important role. It remains to be seen which treatment method will be adopted as the standard. Traumatic vascular injury is an emergency in surgery, mainly characterized by damage to veins and arteries. Haemorrhage (commonly from truncal vascular injuries) and ischemia (typical of peripheral arterial injuries) are the main clinical manifestations of vascular injuries. If vascular trauma has not been treated in time, it may cause disability or even death, especially for limb vascular surgery. There are many difficulties in diagnosis and treatment of vascular injuries, which have brought many challenges to the surgeons since the 20th century. Vascular trauma accounts for 3 % of all traumatic injuries. Vascular injury may lead to severe complications, so early diagnosis and timely treatment are critical. The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical profile of emergency extremity vascular cases at Trivandrum medical college. METHODS The demographic details, aetiology, mode of injury, limb and structures involved, concomitant injuries, clinical finding, delay in reaching trauma centre and surgical intervention done were recorded in a planned proforma and analysis was done. In this retrospective cross-sectional study, a total of 67 patients with extremity vascular emergencies referred to and called for intraoperative assistance in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, Trivandrum Medical College over a period of 2 years from January 2018 to December 2019were included. RESULTS The mean age was 44 (SD 16.2) years with male to female ratio being 10.1 : 1.0. Trauma was the most common aetiology of vascular emergency (76.1 %). Out of the total study population, lower extremity emergencies (82 %) were high compared to upper extremity emergencies (18 %). Popliteal and superficial femoral arteries were the most common sites of injury in lower extremity, whereas radial and brachial arteries were the most common arteries involved in the upper extremity. Vessels were seen contused in majority of patients (46.3 %) followed by thrombosis, transection and rupture. No patients presented with venous injuries. But tendon and nerve injuries were present in 36 patients (53.7 %). Average time delay in reaching trauma center was 3 hours. Simple injuries to arteries were repaired with simple stitches as direct repair in 2 patients (2.99 %) and end to end anastomosis was done in 19 patients after resecting the injured segment. CONCLUSIONS Majority of the affected patients belonged to younger age group with trauma being the predominant aetiology. This may be due to the increase in incidence of road traffic accidents and other industrial accidents. Road safety measures are needed and awareness among public should be increased to reduce these types of injuries. All patients presented to our centre could be managed by performing emergency vascular surgeries, owing to timely reporting to hospital and by better use of imaging modalities. KEY WORDS Extremity Vascular Surgery, Anastomosis, Embolectomy