Percutaneous placement of self-expanding stent for acute traumatic arterial injury

The frequency of arterial injury continues to rise primarily urban violence and invasive interventional procedures. 1,2 Becker et al. described the use of a silicone-coated balloon-expandable intraluminal stent to control a life-threatening subclavian iatrogenic arterial hemorrhage. 3 Although the use of intraluminal arterial stents in peripheral vascular occlusive disease has been described in the treatment of both spontaneous and angioplasty-induced dissections, 4-11 their use in the management of traumatic vascular injuries has not been previously noted. The two cases described are the first report of the use of self-expanding, noncoated stents in the emergent treatment of acute noniatrogenic arterial trauma.