Temporary arterial stenting in a full-house spaghetti wrist injury in a remote rural setting: benefit for hand perfusion or risk of increased morbidity?

We report a case of temporary arterial plastic tube stenting of the ulnar and radial artery in a complete spaghetti wrist injury in a remote rural setting. Exploration in a specialist centre 18 h postinjury revealed that the tubes were clotted off with adjacent thrombi but hand perfusion was maintained. Intimal damage required vein grafting of both arteries 24 h postinjury. Hand perfusion was not compromised at follow-up. This case highlights that arterial hand perfusion can be maintained without the ulnar and radial artery. Arterial manipulation and tube insertion outside a specialist centre bears the risk of increased morbidity and potential microembolism and must therefore not be attempted.