Observation may be an inadequate approach for injured extremities with single tibial vessel run-off.

INTRODUCTION: Trauma patients with sudden loss of distal perfusion due to tibial injuries are frequently not offered vascular interventions if a single vessel retains patency. We hypothesized that sudden loss of either all or some tibial vasculature would result in increased non-operative failure and higher amputation rates.

METHODS: In this retrospective observational study, all traumatically injured patients from 2009 to 2012 with CT-angiogram-confirmed anterior tibial, posterior tibial, or peroneal artery injuries were included.

RESULTS: From 2009 to 2012, 437 patients were admitted with arterial extremity injury of which 234 (53%) were lower extremity. From this group, 84 (36%) patients were identified with CT-angiogram-confirmed limited or no flow in the tibial arteries. A total of 44% (4/9) with 0 or 1 tibial vessel failed observation while only 8% (2/27) failed if they had 2 or 3 patent vessels (p < 0.05). Amputation rate was inversely related the number of open tibial vessels. There were 2.7 open tibial vessels in the limb salvage group compared to 1.1 in the amputation group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: Patients who failed an initial trial of observation were significantly more likely to have 0 or 1 tibial vessels patent. The number of open tibial vessels is significantly associated with limb salvage.