Vascular injuries in the extremities in battle casualties.

A serial of 51 wounded soldiers with 54 arterial and 28 venous injuries is presented. Interposition of autogenous vein grafts was performed in 30 arterial injuries. Lateral suture or patch arterioplasty was performed in 7 arteries. End-to-end anastomosis was possible in 8 cases. Primary vein repair was performed in 14 vein injuries. Lateral suture, patch plasty, end-to-end anastomosis and interposition composite vein grafts were used. A distal temporary arteriovenous fistula to increase the flow through venous interposition grafts was performed in 4 cases. Hyperbaric oxygen treatment was used in 7 cases in which successful arterial repair did not reverse ischaemia, and it prevented major amputations. Neurovascular injuries are not always an indication for primary amputation. Six such cases are discussed.