Temporary Intravascular Shunting Using a Pruitt-F3 Carotid Shunt for Traumatic Popliteal Artery Injury

Temporary intravascular shunting (TIVS) is an effective method to shorten the duration of ischemia and contribute to limb salvage in the treatment of popliteal artery injury (PAI). Traditionally used shunt tubes require ligation or clamping to the blood vessel, which has the disadvantage of causing secondary damage to the vessel. We present two cases in which TIVS was performed using the Pruitt-F3 Carotid Shunt (LeMaitre Vascular Inc., Burlington, Mass.) for traumatic PAI and report the effectiveness of the method. Two patients diagnosed with PAI had pallor of the feet and complete motor and sensory paralysis. The patients were immediately transferred to the operating room. PAI was confirmed in one patient by the medial approach and in the other by the posterior approach. In both patients, the vascular injury extended to the vicinity of the bifurcation into the anterior tibial artery. TIVS was performed using a 9Fr Pruitt-F3 Carotid Shunt. In both patients, the color tone of the feet improved. No vascular damage occurred secondary to TIVS. The popliteal artery was reconstructed using a great saphenous vein graft on the contralateral lower extremity, and the limb was salvaged. If the artery is injured near its bifurcation, it may be possible to preserve the branch vessel by using the Pruitt-F3 Carotid Shunt for TIVS.