Acute Bilateral Lower Extremity Paralysis Secondary to Acute Thrombosis of an Infrarenal Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm.

We present the case of a 64-year-old male who presented to the emergency department with bilateral limb ischemia and paralysis for approximately 1 hour. Computed tomographic angiography demonstrated occlusion of the infrarenal aorta beginning just above the patient's known abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and extending into both common iliac arteries. He was emergently treated via open repair of the AAA with a Gore-Tex tube graft, bilateral common iliac thrombectomies, and bilateral lower extremity four-compartment fasciotomies. Post-operatively, he had monophasic signals in both posterior tibial arteries, neither of which was present before the operation. During recovery, he developed an ileus but otherwise did not have complications. He was discharged to rehabilitation on post-operative day 15.

Thrombolytic therapy for critical limb ischemia in a Jehovah's Witness with severe anemia.

A patient's refusal to receive blood products can pose both clinical and ethical challenges to the surgeon. In this report, we review the case of a Jehovah's Witness presenting with critical lower limb ischemia and severe anemia for whom the decision of whether to perform thrombolytic therapy was complicated by his refusal to accept blood products. The case demonstrates that thrombolytic therapy can produce favorable results in severely anemic patients even when transfusion is not an option. We conclude that offering thrombolytic therapy in this context is a reasonable therapeutic option from both a clinical and ethical perspective.