Peripheral vascular injury.

Abstract

Over the past 20 years, the predominant trend in the care of the civilian trauma patient has been toward less invasive therapy. Splenic injuries that are now being identified with computed tomography scan or ultrasound are managed without laparotomy. Similarly, in caring for the patient with potential vascular injury of the extremity, the trend has been toward less invasive means of diagnosis and therapy. Defining which patients need angiography and how to use duplex scanning and pressure indices are still evolving issues.