Subclavian artery injury following blunt trauma: A report of three cases

• Main Authors: Amr Fares, Nissar Shaikh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: HBKU Press 2012-04-01
• Series: Journal of Emergency Medicine, Trauma and Acute Care

Subclavian artery injuries are rare in blunt chest trauma, constituting just 1-2 percent of all acute vascular injuries. The diagnosis of injury to the subclavian artery is challenging as a good percentage of patients with such vascular injuries have palpable distal pulses, no signs of any external local trauma and associated injuries often divert the attention of treating physicians. Subclavian artery injuries are the second most common injuries to occur to the aortic arch vessels. The mechanism of injury to these vessels varies from deceleration to traction on upper extremity and neck. Angiography is vital in diagnosis and surgical planning of these patients depends on the site and side of the vascular injuries. Early surgical treatment is an important part of management of these patients. Endovascular treatment is of value in a selected subgroup of subclavian artery injury patients. Reported mortality of subclavian artery injuries varies according to haemodynamic status of patient, time of presentation and other associated injuries. A high degree of suspicion is key to diagnosing these vascular injuries. Early appropriate surgical repair of vascular injury, in combination with aggressive treatment of associated injuries, is important for the optimal outcome of these cases. Here we report three cases of subclavian artery injury, which were successfully treated in Hamad General Hospital by vascular surgery and intensive care teams.