Acute Arterial Ischemia

Acute limb ischemia (ALI) is defined as a sudden decrease in arterial perfusion to an extremity causing a potential threat to limb viability. There are many etiologies of ALI including trauma, embolism from the heart or other vascular beds, in-situ thrombosis, or iatrogenic causes. With ALI secondary to trauma it is important to recognize the mechanism of injury (blunt, high or low velocity penetrating).