Blunt injury to the common iliac artery.

OBJECTIVES AND

DESIGN

iliac artery lesion after blunt trauma is uncommon, with only 12 previously reported cases. We report nine patients treated in two French teaching hospitals over a six-year period. Mechanism, symptomatology, treatment and outcome were analysed.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: All patients were male with a mean (range) age of 29 (16-43) years. Median delay to operative repair was 15 days. Through an extraperitoneal approach PTFE grafts were used in five cases and autogenous graft in four.

RESULTS

Morbidity was 22%. Reoperation was necessary in two cases at a mean follow-up of 48 months, at which time all patients were asymptomatic with normal pulses.

CONCLUSION

Clinicians should be alert to the possibility of this injury. An arteriography for Doppler ultrasound should be performed. Treatment is mainly surgical and produces excellent long-term results.