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INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Vascular injuries to extremities are common in armed conflicts. Such kind of injury is associated with a high risk of critical ischemia, limb amputation, and high morbidity. There is a clinical challenge for the management of vascular injuries to extremities in ongoing warfare due to limited medical resources. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 34 years old male received a gunshot injury to both low extremities on March, 23rd 2022 in a battlefield area 30 km away from Kyiv city. CAT tourniquet was applied to stop the bleeding and the patient was transported to Level II by ambulance 40 min after the injury. The patient was diagnosed with a gunshot injury to the left superficial femoral artery (SFA) followed by primary surgical debridement and temporary arterial shunting at Level II hospital. Then the patient was evacuated to Level IV hospital, diagnosed with an injury to the right popliteal artery, and underwent vascular reconstruction. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Arterial shunting is a well-known approach to prevent critical ischemia and limb amputations of injured extremities in both combat and civilian patients. This case report provides evidence for the utility of temporary arterial shunting in combat conditions, which is supported by data from the larger cohorts. We consider temporary vascular shunting as a damage control measure to be associated with high chances of limb salvage in ongoing warfare. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated the utility of temporary arterial shunting in combat patients with gunshot wounds in ongoing warfare, which could be performed even in case of limited medical resources.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Unsolved problems of cerebral protection in operations on the aortic arch, especially in a combination with extension of dissection to the brachiocephalic arteries determine search for variants making it possible to carry out adequate cerebral perfusion. AIM: To propose a new technique and initial experience of using cerebral perfusion through a temporary shunt from the basin of the left subclavian artery at the stage of prosthetic repair of brachiocephalic arteries. PATIENTS AND METHODS: At the Department of Reconstructive Surgery and Aortic Root of A.N. Bakulev National Medical Research Centre of Cardiovascular Surgery, a total of 6 patients (5 men) with type A aortic dissection underwent a stage of restoration of brachiocephalic arteries with the use of a temporary arterial shunt. The mean age was 48±15 years. The patients had chronic aortic dissection involving brachiocephalic arteries, primary fenestration in the aortic arch. All were found to have signs of chronic cerebrovascular insufficiency (dizziness, loss of consciousness); 2 patients had a history of transitory focal impairments. All patients were subjected to prosthetic repair of the ascending portion, aortic arch and all brachiocephalic arteries in conditions of adaptive perfusion with the use of adaptive loop from arterial lines. Supracoronary reconstruction of the ascending aorta was performed in 4 patients, Bentall operation in 2 subjects, with all undergoing total aortic arch replacement according to the elephant trunk technique. Brachiocephalic arteries were repaired using a trifurcated vascular grafts. RESULTS: Mean duration of cerebral perfusion along the temporary shunt amounted to 34±12 min. At all stages of operation, the level of haemoglobin oxygen saturation (rSO2) according to cerebral oximetry was within the reference values. All patients were discharged averagely on POD 12. CONCLUSION: A novel technique of cerebral perfusion along a temporary shunt will make it possible to extend the capabilities of heart surgeons in complicated combined interventions on the aortic arch and brachiocephalic arteries.