Causes and treatment strategies for laparoscopic vascular injuries

Objective To summarize the causes and treatment strategies for laparoscopic vascular injuries.Methods We had retrospectively reviewed 1858 cases of laparoscopic surgeries from March 2006 to February 2011.There were 10 cases (6 males and 4 females) had intraoperative vascular injuries.The mean age of these 10 patients was 49 years (ranged from 21 to 78 years).2 cases were aortic injuries,2 cases were vena cava injuries,4 cases were renal vein injuries,1 case was iliac vein injury and 1 case was iliac artery injury.The causes of vascular injuries included 2 cases caused by lack of anatomical understanding; 1 cases occurred during establishment of the first puncture site ; 2 cases caused by forced operation during the procedure; 2 cases caused due to ectopic anatomy; 3 cases caused due to adhesions and difficulties in dissection.Treatment strategies were maintaining pneumoperitoneum pressure and rapidly increasing the pressure to 2.6Kpa if a large amount of bleeding in a short time.With the help of suction,the bleeding sites could be identified.If necessary,an additional trocar was added to help exposure.The bleeding was closed with 4-0 vessel sutures.For arterial bleeding,the upper and lower ends of blood vessel ruptures were clipped with bulldog clamp,then follow the same procedures of variceal bleeding sutures if the bleeding were controlled.Results In 7 of the 10 cases,the bleedings were successfully controlled by laparoscopic technique,while the other 3 were converted to open surgery for bleeding control.The average laparoscopic hemostasis time in the 7 cases was 14 min (range from 8 to 25 min),the average blood loss was 530 ml (range from 150 to 1600 ml).Rupture size were 0.2-1.0 cm.One aortic injury case had complication of big post operative local hematoma which was spontaneously absorbed 3 months after surgery.And the other 9 patients did not have air embolism,hemorrhage and other complications.Conclusions Laparoscopic vascular injuries can be caused by a variety of causes.The strategies of controlling the bleeding are calmness and the fine suturing to control bleeding.A skillful assistant also plays an important role in dealing with this complication. Key words: Laparoscopy; Great vessels; Injury; Treatment