Missile vascular injuries: 19-year experience.
BACKGROUND
Missile vascular injuries have reached an epidemic proportion in Kashmir valley since the eruption of militancy. The present study was undertaken to analyze the mode, pattern, presentation, and management of missile vascular injuries.


METHODS
A retrospective study of patients with missile vascular injury from January 1990 to October 2008 was undertaken. Five hundred eighty patients with missile vascular injury were studied. All patients with vascular injury due to causes other than missiles were excluded from the study.


RESULTS
Most of the patients were treated by interpositional saphenous vein graft or end-to-end anastomosis. The most common complication was wound infection (22.7%) followed by graft occlusion (3.8%). The amputation rate was 3.3% and was higher in patients with a delay of >6 hours to revascularization and associated fractures.


CONCLUSIONS
Missile vascular injury requires prompt resuscitation and revascularization. Preoperative angiography is seldom necessary. Doppler study may sometimes be needed to aid in the diagnosis.
Ahanger
Abdul Gani
AG
Sheri-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura Srinager, India. latifs_dr@yahoo.com
Wani
Mohd Lateef
ML
Lone
Reyaz Ahmad
RA
Singh
Shyam
S
Hussain
Zahur
Z
Mir
Ishtiyak A
IA
Irshad
Ifat
I
Ashraf
Hakeem Zubair
HZ
Dar
Abdul Majeed
AM
Lone
Ghulam Nabi
GN
Bhat
Mohammad Akbar
MA
Sharma
Mukand Lal
ML
D001158:Arteries / Q000293:injuries*; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000293:injuries*; D003288:Contusions / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008887:Military Medicine; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014421:Turkey; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D014754:Violence; D014857:Warfare; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery*