Fractures of the pelvic ring represent an important injury of the traumatized patient with a vast range of injury patterns and treatment options. The incidence of pelvic ring injuries is between 2% and 8% with a frequency as high as…
Approximately 3% to 4% of patients with blunt trauma in the emergency department sustain a spinal column injury, such as spinal fracture or dislocation, while 1% sustains a spinal cord injury. The incidence is higher in unconscious patients and those…
Severe injuries of the lower extremity are a life-changing event that are usually the result of high-impact trauma, such as motor vehicle accidents and crush injuries. Initial resuscitation, diagnostic evaluation, and management of trauma patients with blunt or penetrating trauma…
Fractures and dislocations of the upper extremity can range from benign problems requiring minimal intervention to life- or limb-threatening emergencies. Treatment considerations include injury pattern, mechanism, status of the soft tissues, associated neurologic or vascular injury, and other bodily injuries.…
Most cervical, truncal, and peripheral vascular injuries can be treated using simple techniques of repair performed by general, trauma, or vascular surgeons. Certain locations of injury and complex injuries, however, mandate more advanced techniques of exposure and innovative operative approaches…
Penetrating arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) are a rare complication of vascular injuries; consequently, few trauma surgeons and trauma centers have significant experience with their management. Most series have been reported during wartime and/or prior to the advent of well-developed vascular surgical…
Vascular injuries in branch vessels of the popliteal artery such as the tibioperoneal trunk and shank vessels such as anterior, posterior tibial, and peroneal vessels occur with variable frequency in both blunt and penetrating trauma. While their management has evolved…
Historical perspective In 1906, José Goyanes from Spain first resected a traumatic popliteal artery aneurysm and used the adjacent popliteal vein to reconstruct the popliteal artery with an interposition graft. He is thus credited with the description of the first…
Anatomy The femoral artery is a direct continuation of the external iliac artery, which courses from the inguinal ligament to the adductor canal (subsartorial or Hunter’s canal), where it exits as the popliteal artery. The common femoral artery lies at…
Injury to the iliac vessels poses a serious and frustrating treatment dilemma for all trauma surgeons. Throughout both civilian and military history injuries to the iliac vessels have been devastating, due to the often uncontrollable hemorrhage and severe associated injuries…