Objectives: This study aimed to discuss the different challenges faced while managing emergency vascular surgery cases during the COVID-19 pandemic and how these challenges were overcome. Methods: This study details 14 emergency cases that were managed during a period of one month from mid-March to mid-April at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman. The cases included acute limb ischaemia, critical limb ischaemia, type B dissection of the thoracic aorta, thoraco-abdominal aneurysm, critical internal carotid artery stenosis, trauma, infected arteriovenous forearm loop graft and thrombosed arteriovenous fistulas. Results: Only one patient was confirmed to have COVID-19. Five were negative for COVID-19 while the remaining eight were not tested. Various strategies on how the vascular surgical team accommodated changes in hospital protocols and nationwide lockdown are discussed in detail. Conclusions: With the judicious use of personal protective equipment and consumable surgical and endovascular devices, communication with support services and other hospitals and implementation of triage protocols, it was possible to manage vascular surgery emergencies effectively.
KEYWORDS
COVID-19; Vascular Surgery; Emergencies; Oman.
Blunt thoracic aortic injuries are potentially lethal. Those who survive may form an organised haematoma in the periadventitial space resulting in a pseudoaneurysm, which may be identified incidentally decades later. While the role of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) in acute settings has been established, its role in chronic cases is yet to be defined. We report three cases that were diagnosed incidentally six, nine and 18 years after the injury. Two were managed by TEVAR while the third declined intervention and is on annual followup. Patients with asymptomatic and stable pseudoaneurysms of the descending thoracic aorta should be offered surveillance versus TEVAR because the risk of rupture is not negligible, whilst taking into account the patient’s level of physical activity. These three cases highlight the importance of early diagnosis of aortic injuries in blunt trauma and its grading.
KEYWORDS
Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm; Endovascular Procedures; False Aneurysm; Nonpenetrating Wounds; Traffic Accidents; Oman.
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