A Practical and Effective Method in End-to-End Anastomosis of Radial or Ulnar Artery: Intracath Technique

Excerpt

Radial or ulnar artery injuries accompany most of the forearm injuries [1]. In forearm injuries where one of the radial and ulnar arteries is injured and the hand circulation remains intact, treatment is controversial. Ligation of the injured artery is still a valid treatment in a young and healthy individual with injured radial artery or injured ulnar artery where there is no nerve injury and the hand circulation is adequately provided from the other artery [2]. Artery repair should be performed in children or elderly individuals, those whose hand circulation cannot be adequately supplied with a single artery, those with accompanying nerve injuries and those with injuries in both arteries [2]. In even cuts where revascularization is possible, especially with end-to-end anastomosis, in our opinion, the injured ulnar or radial artery should be repaired and not ligated unless otherwise needed. Surgical experience, as well as adequate surgical equipment are required for artery repair, and ideal artery repair is performed under the guidance of a microscope or a magnifying glass [3]. We have demonstrated that this method we have described is a practical and effective method because it does not require a microscope or a magnifier, guaranty luminal patency during repair, facilitates heparinization even after repair is completed, does not require special approximator clamps, and saves time. …