latrogenic brachial artery injury during anterolateral plating of humeral shaft fracture
10.3760/cma.j.issn.1008-1275.2013.06.012
- Author:
Kumar VISHAL
1
;
Behera PRATEEK
;
Aggarwal SAMEER
;
Meena Kumar UMESH
Author Information
1. Department of Orthopedics
- Keywords:
Humeral fractures;
Intraoperative complications;
Brachial artery;
Thrombosis;
Angiography
- From:
Chinese Journal of Traumatology
2013;16(6):371-374
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
There are several well defined indications for surgical management of humeral shaft fractures.Operative procedures on the humerus are associated with their own complications.Iatrogenic brachial artery injury as a complication of humeral shaft plating has not been reported previously.We report a case of a 48 years old femalewho received operation at a district hospital and was referred to us when the surgeon could not palpate the pulse.CT angiogram showed that there was segmental non-opacification of the brachial artery.There was distal reformation and the thrombosis was decided to be managed conservatively.We believe that the arterial injury was a result ofimproper surgical technique and the segmental block might be due to improper use of plate holding forceps.This case report makes us aware of a rare complication of operative management of humeral shaft fractures and that basic principles of surgery must be always followed to prevent such injuries.
