Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S C Stain

Publications and source records attributed to S C Stain.

41 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Extra-anatomic bypass of failed traumatic arterial repairs.

Arterial injuries are best treated by primary repair or anatomically placed interposition grafts. Occasionally, these repairs fail due to adverse local factors, such as soft-tissue infection or enteric contamination. In these instances, limb salvage may require extra-anatomic arterial reconstruction. Between 1979 and 1989, 13 extra-anatomic bypasses were performed in ten male patients following nine failed primary repairs and one ligation of a traumatic arterial injury. The sites of arterial injury were: aorta (two), iliac (five), femoral (two), popliteal (one). Enteric contamination was present at initial operation in six patients; the remaining four had sustained massive soft-tissue injury. Reoperation was required for hemorrhage (seven), pseudoaneurysm (two), and arteriovenous fistula (one). All patients had developed local wound problems that militated against another anatomic repair. Extra-anatomic bypasses performed were: axillo-femoral (three), femoro-femoral (four), obturator (one), and two extra-anatomic femoral to popliteal saphenous vein grafts routed around an infected field. A second extra-anatomic reconstruction was performed for recurrent hemorrhage in three patients, (axillo-femoral--two, obturator--one). One patient with a neuropathic extremity and a functioning graft underwent amputation at 2 months following the initial injury. Two patients died of systemic sepsis. Seven patients (70%) have functional extremities with intact pulses at 2 to 24 months post bypass (mean, 7 months). Limb salvage after secondary disruption of secondarily infected arterial repairs can be achieved by appropriate extra-anatomic arterial reconstruction. In such cases, limb loss is due to soft-tissue sepsis or neuro-skeletal injuries and not vascular insufficiency.

Adult↗

Sinistral (left-sided) portal hypertension.

Between 1953 and 1988, 21 patients with splenic vein thrombosis (SVT), 12 of whom had sinistral portal hypertension (SPH) were treated at our institution. SVT was identified at autopsy in nine patients. Twelve additional patients presented with SPH: bleeding esophageal varices, SVT and normal hepatic function. SVT was caused by pancreatic neoplasm (5), chronic pancreatitis (5), and pancreatic pseudocyst (2). SVT was diagnosed by splanchnic angiography, splenoportography, computerized tomography, and ultrasonography. Gastric varices were diagnosed by endoscopy (10) and barium swallow (2). Splenectomy was performed as primary therapy in 10 patients. Three of these 10 had en block distal pancreatectomy. Two high-risk patients had splenic artery embolization, one as a prelude to splenectomy performed 48 hours later and the other as definitive therapy. One splenectomized patient continued to bleed. No further bleeding occurred in 10 splenectomized patients in follow-up from 1 week to 14 years. Sinistral portal hypertension is a clinical syndrome of splenic vein thrombosis caused by pancreatic pathology and manifests as bleeding gastric varices in patients with a patent portal vein and normal hepatic function. Splanchnic arteriography is necessary for accurate diagnosis. Splenectomy is the effective treatment of choice.

Adult↗

Selective management of nonocclusive arterial injuries.

Between 1978 and 1988, 50 patients were demonstrated arteriographically to have 61 nonocclusive arterial injuries (44 major arteries, 17 minor arteries). The 61 injuries consisted of 19 intimal defects, 4 intimal flaps, 26 pseudoaneurysms, 2 arterial stenoses, and 10 arteriovenous fistulas. End-organ ischemia or ongoing hemorrhage were not present. All patients were treated nonoperatively. At 1 to 12 weeks after the injury, 30 arterial injuries (24 major, 6 minor) were studied by repeated arteriography. Resolution, improvement, or stabilization of the injury occurred in 21 (87%) major artery injuries. Progression occurred in the remaining 3 injuries, including 1 patient who underwent subsequent successful repair. Twenty-one injuries were followed up without repeated arteriography. Delayed arterial thrombosis, hemorrhage, or ischemia did not develop, and no patient required operative management. Eight of 10 additional arterial injuries had successful percutaneous embolization at the time of repeated arteriography. The overwhelming majority of small arterial injuries or intimal fractures do not lead to vascular complications if managed nonoperatively. A routine policy of operative exploration for all such injuries is therefore unwarranted. These injuries are best managed by observation and serial arteriography to document spontaneous healing or progression.

Adolescent↗

Trends in the management of traumatic vertebral artery injuries.

From 1975 to 1988, 25 patients with a vertebral artery (VA) injury were treated. Admission neurologic status was intact in 14 patients (56 percent). Eight patients had deficits due to direct nerve or spinal cord injury, two patients had symptoms referable to vertebrobasilar ischemia, and one patient had a contralateral deficit due to an associated carotid artery injury. Twenty-two of 25 patients (88 percent) underwent diagnostic arteriography. Twelve patients (48 percent) with 9 occlusive and 3 minimal injuries were observed. Seven patients (28 percent), three with exsanguinating hemorrhage, were treated by operative exploration and VA ligation. Six patients (24 percent), two with a VA pseudoaneurysm and four with an arteriovenous fistula, were managed by percutaneous transcatheter embolization. The neurologic status was unchanged or improved in 22 patients (88 percent) at discharge. Two patients developed Horner's syndrome after VA ligation. Transient posterior circulation ischemia occurred in a single patient after percutaneous transcatheter embolization. There was no mortality. The majority of VA injuries are best managed by nonoperative methods. Untoward neurologic sequelae are rare. Operative intervention and VA ligation should be reserved for patients with active hemorrhage or large pseudoaneurysms and arteriovenous fistulas which cannot be embolized.

Adolescent↗

Hepatic trauma.

Two hundred thirty-three patients were operated on for hepatic trauma during a two-year period. There were 101 patients with stab wounds, 90 with gunshot wounds, and 42 with blunt trauma. There were 56 isolated liver injuries. Three hundred seventy-five associated injuries occurred among the remaining 177 patients. The majority of patients required only drainage. "Liver sutures" were employed in 66 patients. Only 18 patients required débridement, resection, or packing. Twenty-eight patients (12%) died. Perioperatively, 13 patients died of hemorrhage from the hepatic wound and from the associated major vascular injuries that were present in eight of the 13 cases. The remaining deaths were not primarily a consequence of the hepatic wound. Control of hemorrhage remains the dominant consideration in the treatment of major hepatic wounds.

Drainage↗