Vascular Trauma

Vascular trauma is an injury to your blood vessels (arteries and veins). There are two types:

• Blunt trauma is when a blood vessel is crushed or stretched
• Penetrating trauma is when a blood vessel is torn or punctured

Symptoms

Because vascular trauma is caused by an injury, the main symptom is the injury itself. You may also have:

• Bleeding from the wound
• Swelling
• Lightheadedness
• Numbness in the affected limb
• Inability to move the affected limb

Treatment

If left untreated, vascular trauma can cause blood clots, life-threatening bleeding, damage to a limb, or a stroke.

Surgery is the main treatment for vascular trauma. During surgery, your injured blood vessel will be grafted, put back together, or patched.

For some vascular trauma, you may be able to have endovascular treatment, which is less invasive than surgery, and may include angioplasty, embolization, or a stent.