[Traumatic lesion of the subclavian and axillary arteries]

This study comprises 11 patients with traumatic vascular injuries of the subclavian and axillary vessels treated in the last 13 years at the Institute of General and Cardiovascular Surgery of Milan. Nine patients were male and two were female. In two patients the cause of injury was a penetrating trauma; blunt trauma occurred in nine patients. The majority of injuries were caused by motor vehicle accidents. Two patients suffered complete brachial plexus palsies with complete transection of the median nerve. Seven patients were affected by multiple bone injuries, while major venous injury was present in one case. Diagnosis was established by angiography performed in all stable patients. Vascular repair was performed in 10 patients; 4 patients were treated by primary repair, and 6 patients by interposition grafts. In one case we performed a transluminal percutaneous angioplasty (PTA) during angiographic examination, with a good result. There were no postoperative vascular complications and no patient died.