DELAYED PRESENTATION OF 50 YEARS AFTER A WORLD-WAR-II VASCULAR INJURYWITH INTRAOPERATIVE LOCALIZATION BY DUPLEX ULTRASOUND OF A TRAUMATIC FALSE ANEURYSM

A case of delayed presentation of a traumatic false aneurysm in the le ft arm 50 years after penetrating injury sustained during World War II is described, The original injury resulted in brachial artery occlusi on and complete median nerve palsy, The false aneurysm presented with a spontaneous, contained rupture. Surgical repair was performed after duplex ultrasound localization of the lesion to a small collateral art ery lateral to the elbow, thereby avoiding dissection in the densely s carred tissue plains in the antecubital fossa, Duplex ultrasound was a lso used intraoperatively to facilitate localization of the aneurysm n eck and to confirm absence of flow in the sac after repair, A brief hi storical review of traumatic false aneurysms caused by combat injuries , is provided, The progress in the treatment of such injuries gained b y wartime experience is reviewed.