Treatment of acute neonatal vascular injuries--the utility of multiple interventions

Vascular injuries in neonates are a rare complication of the varied invasive procedures performed in these small children. Unfortunately there remains a reluctance to repair these injuries early, often because of the relative small size of the affected vessels and the nature of the patient's underlying medical condition. The authors report a consecutive series of patients treated for arterial and venous injuries early in their course using a variety of microsurgical techniques.

A retrospective chart review was performed of consecutive patients (n = 7) treated over a 2-year period. All had injury as a result of invasive procedures performed in the neonatal period. Both arterial and venous injuries that required some form of intervention were included.

Five arterial and two venous injuries were identified. Surgical thrombectomy and microvascular repair was required in two patients. Primary healing occurred despite prolonged (>13 hours) warm ischemia time. Pseudoaneurysms of the brachial artery and radial artery were controlled with surgical ligation, and one patient required bilateral fasciotomies for compartment syndromes related to severe spasm of the common femoral arteries. Phlegmasia cerulea dolens of the lower extremity (n = 2) was treated with leech therapy. All patients healed without tissue loss or functional deficit.

A variety of microvascular interventions have application to the treatment of acute vascular injuries in neonates. Early, aggressive use of these techniques can provide effective therapy for these potentially devastating injuries and allow for complete limb recovery without tissue loss.