Brachial plexus injury secondary to pseudoaneurysm of axillary artery after glenohumeral dislocation: case report

Abstract

Lesions of the axillary artery and consequent compression of the brachial plexus are extremely rare in patients with glenohumeral dislocation and may have greatly varying clinical manifestations. This joint is one of the most affected by dislocation in the human body, accounting for approximately 45% of cases. Less than 1% of patients with shoulder dislocation have vascular complications; however, when there is damage in the axillary artery, the incidence of associated brachial plexus injury is 27% to 44%. The authors report on a case of brachial plexus compression by an axillary artery pseudoaneurysm after a glenohumeral dislocation, aiming to highlight the existence of this association, in order to make an early diagnosis and avoid serious complications, such as neurologic injury.

A Rare Case of Neglected Rupture of Right Axillary Artery Pseudoaneurysm Mimicking a Soft Tissue Tumor

“…Pseudoaneurysms of the axillary artery are a rare complication after blunt trauma in the axillary region [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. In the case of blunt trauma, a shoulder joint-related bone injury may occur, and most often an anterior dislocation [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]; axillary artery damage has been reported with a prevalence of about 0.3% [ 2 , 3 ].…”

“…Injury to the shoulder region is the most common complication of a dislocated shoulder joint, humeral fractures, plexus brachialis injuries, and also vascular injury [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Pseudoaneurysms represent an encapsulated hematoma in communication with the lumen of a ruptured vessel [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Traumatic pseudoaneurysm of the axillary artery is a rare sequela of injury to the shoulder region [ 1 , 3 , 5 , 9 , 13 ].…”