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PERIPHERAL VASCULAR
DAMAGE CONTROL
CASE PRESENTATIONS

 

 

CLASSIC CASES

Superficial Femoral Artery Injury
Staged repair with arterial shunt

Richard Koehler, Steve Merrell

Case Presentation
A case of a young male, restrained passenger who was involved in a rollover motor vehicle crash. A metal road sign pole was impaled through and through his right lower extremity.

Impalement through right thigh

He was taken to OR with a shattered femur and transected superficial femoral artery and vein. After removing the sign post, we ligated his superficial femoval vein and placed a temporary shunt in the artery between the superficial femoral and popliteal arteries. Orthopaedics then plated his femur. and we then performed a bypass of his superficial femoral artery with contralateral greater saphenous vein.

Shunt in superficial femoral artery

He was able to ambulate with a functional limb post operatively and did surprisingly well!

Discussion & References

For discussion and references on the management see the articles on Peripheral Vascular Trauma and Damage Control Surgery

trauma.org (10:4) April 2005