ARTERIAL TRAUMA



Arterial trauma is usually a surgical emergency. It occurs with penetrating or blunt trauma, in­cluding fractures and dislocations. Swelling within a compartment of an extremity after blunt trauma can cause both arterial and neurological damage and responds to decompression of that compartment. Direct arterial injury from trauma requires acute surgical repair. Arterial injury may be iatrogenic from catheterization of brachial or femoral arteries. Loss of local pulse after a cath­eterization procedure should be approached sur­gically with early thrombectomy .and/or repair, since waiting may necessitate more complicated procedures.