Internal Pudendal Artery Injury Following An Open Book Pelvic Fracture: A Case Report

@#Arterial haemorrhage is a potentially life threatening complication in severe pelvic ring injuries such as “open book” fractures. These injuries mostly implicate the posterior branches of the internal iliac artery. However, we report an unusual case wherein the source of bleeding was identified to be the internal pudendal artery and its branches. Patient was a 27-year-old male who presented to the emergency following an alleged history of road traffic accident and was diagnosed as a case of pelvic fracture (Young and Burgess Antero-Posterior Compression II) with sacral fracture (Denis type 2) with suspected urethral injury. Computerised Tomography (CT) angiogram revealed contrast extravasation from the right internal pudendal artery. However, digital subtraction angiography (DSA) was normal indicating spontaneous closure of the arterial bleeder. Surgical stabilisation of the fracture was carried out and subsequently, patient was discharged. This report serves to highlight that although uncommon, internal pudendal artery can be injured in hemodynamically unstable “open book” pelvic fractures and hence, must be always ruled out.

Repair of skin and soft tissue defects of vulva, vagina, and buttock with internal pudendal artery perforator " angel wing" island flaps in six cases / 中华烧伤杂志

From November 2015 to July 2017, six patients with skin and soft tissue defects of vulva, vagina, and buttock after resection of vulvar tumors were hospitalized in our unit. All patients were female, aged 45-70 years. Among them, four patients had bilateral defects, and two patients had unilateral defect. The defect area on each side ranged from 6 cm×4 cm to 12 cm×6 cm. Internal pudendal artery perforator " angel wing" island flaps were used to repair and reconstruct the defects. The area of flaps ranged from 7 cm×5 cm to 14 cm×7 cm. The donor sites were sutured directly. All 10 flaps of 6 patients survived. Two patients had local incision infection 3 days after operation. One of the two patients was healed 2 weeks after dressing change, and the other one underwent debridement and suture 1 week after dressing change and was healed 1 week after surgery. Follow-up for 6-12 months after surgery showed no recurrence of tumors, no eversion of vagina, better shape of vulva in bilateral reconstruction cases, and slightly worse symmetry in unilateral reconstruction cases. The skin of the reconstructed area was soft, with sensations of pain, temperature, and touch recovered in varying degrees. The distance of a two-point discrimination was 20-30 mm. Linear scars were left in the flap donor sites, with no impact on squatting or striding. In vaginal examination, 1.5 to 2.0 fingers could be inserted in bilateral reconstruction cases, while 2.0 to 3.0 fingers could be inserted in unilateral reconstruction cases. The anus functioned well during defecation.

Subunit strategy for perineal defect reconstruction / 中华整形外科杂志

Objective@#To explore the subunit strategy for perineal defect reconstruction and flap selection.@*Methods@#This is a respective study of 21 patients, with perineal defect, during January 2008 to December 2018. All patients were admitted to the fifth section of Burn and Plastic Surgery in the Fourth Medical Center of the People′s Liberation Army General Hospital. There were 10 males and 11 females, aged from 4 to 68 years old, with the mean age of 26.4 years. The causes of injury included burn (n=11), trauma (n=2), Paget′s disease (n=2), Brown′s disease (n=2), perineal squamous cell carcinoma (n=3)and hemangioma (n=1). The perineum is divided into 4 subunits, according to the anatomical structure: a front area monsveneris or pubic symphysis, 2 middle areas (labia or scrotum) and a posterior area (anal). The defects ranged 23 cm×11 cm-5 cm×3 cm after perineal lesions were removed. Appropriate flaps were selected based on tissue defect.@*Results@#Nine patients were repaired with superficial inferior epigastric artery flap, 3 patients were repaired with superficial circumflex iliac artery flap, and 2 patients were repaired with combined superficial inferior epigastric artery flap and superficial circumflex iliac artery island flap. Internal pudendal arterial perforator flap was performed in 5 patients, and anterolateral thigh perforator flap in 2 patients. The size of flap was 25 cm×12 cm-6 cm×3 cm. All flaps survived, and incisions were primary healing. Patients were followed up for 6 months to 9 years, with an average of 13 months. The patients were satisfied with the appearances and functions of the recipient and doner sites. Scars were concealed well.@*Conclusions@#Appropriate flap can be chosen to repair perineal defects, based on the subunit principle in perineum, in order to restore function and appearance, and achieve satisfactory clinical outcomes.

Functional and structural changes in internal pudendal arteries underlie erectile dysfunction induced by androgen deprivation / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

Androgen deficiency is strongly associated with erectile dysfunction (ED). Inadequate penile arterial blood flow is one of the major causes of ED. The blood flow to the corpus cavernosum is mainly derived from the internal pudendal arteries (IPAs); however, no study has evaluated the effects of androgen deprivation on IPA's function. We hypothesized that castration impairs IPAs reactivity and structure, contributing to ED. In our study, Wistar male rats, 8-week-old, were castrated and studied 30 days after orchiectomy. Functional and structural properties of rat IPAs were determined using wire and pressure myograph systems, respectively. Protein expression was determined by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Plasma testosterone levels were determined using the IMMULITE 1000 Immunoassay System. Castrated rats exhibited impaired erectile function, represented by decreased intracavernosal pressure/mean arterial pressure ratio. IPAs from castrated rats exhibited decreased phenylephrine-and electrical field stimulation (EFS)-induced contraction and decreased acetylcholine-and EFS-induced vasodilatation. IPAs from castrated rats exhibited decreased internal diameter, external diameter, thickness of the arterial wall, and cross-sectional area. Castration decreased nNOS and-actin expression and increased collagen expression, p38 (Thr180/Tyr182) phosphorylation, as well as caspase 3 cleavage. In conclusion, androgen deficiency is associated with impairment of IPA reactivity and structure and increased apoptosis signaling markers. Our findings suggest that androgen deficiency-induced vascular dysfunction is an event involving hypotrophic vascular remodeling of IPAs.

Clinical importance of a star shaped branch of internal iliac artery and unusual branches of an abnormal obturator artery: rare vascular variations / Importância clínica de um ramo estrelado de artéria ilíaca interna e de ramos incomuns de artéria obturatória anormal: variações vasculares raras

The internal iliac artery (IIA) is one of the branches of the common iliac artery and supplies the pelvic viscera, the musculoskeletal part of the pelvis, the gluteal region, the medial thigh region and the perineum. During routine cadaveric dissection of a male cadaver for undergraduate Medical students, we observed variation in the course and branching pattern of the left IIA. The artery gave rise to two common trunks and then to the middle rectal artery, inferior vesicle artery and superior vesicle artery. The first, slightly larger, common trunk gave rise to an unnamed artery, the lateral sacral artery and the superior gluteal artery. The second, smaller, common trunk entered the gluteal region through the greater sciatic foramen, below the piriformis muscle and presented a stellate branching pattern deep to the gluteus maximus muscle. Two of the arteries forming the stellate pattern were the internal pudendal artery and the inferior gluteal artery. The other two were muscular branches.

A artéria ilíaca interna (AII) é um dos ramos da artéria ilíaca comum e supre as vísceras da pelve, a parte musculoesquelética da pelve, a região glútea, a região medial da coxa e o períneo. Durante a dissecção de rotina realizada em um cadáver do sexo masculino para estudantes de Medicina, observamos uma variação no curso e padrão de ramificação da AII esquerda. A artéria deu origem a dois troncos comuns e então à artéria retal média, artéria vesical inferior e artéria vesical superior. O primeiro tronco comum, ligeiramente maior, deu origem a uma artéria sem nome, à artéria sacral lateral e à artéria glútea superior. O segundo tronco comum, menor, adentrou a região glútea através do forame ciático maior, abaixo do músculo piriforme, e apresentou um padrão estrelado de ramificação na parte profunda do músculo glúteo máximo. Duas das artérias que formaram o padrão estrelado foram a artéria pudenda interna e a artéria glútea inferior. Os outros dois ramos eram musculares.

Study of Variations In Anterior Division of Internal Iliac Artery.

Background: The internal iliac artery is the chief pelvic artery. It supplies to the all pelvic viscera, musculoskeletal part of the pelvis. The branches of the anterior trunk of the internal iliac artery are the superior and inferior vesical, middle rectal, vaginal, obturator, uterine, internal pudendal and inferior gluteal. Knowledge of internal iliac artery is very helpful in pelvic surgery practice. Methods: 50 adult human pelvic halves were procured from embalmed cadavers of J.J.M. Medical College and S.S.I.M.S & R.C, Davangere, Karnataka, India for the study. Results: Middle rectal artery took origin from anterior division in 42 specimens (84%), most frequently with internal pudendal artery in 32 specimens (64%) and was found to be absent in 8 specimens (16%). The obturator artery took origin most frequently from the anterior division of Internal iliac artery in 36 specimens (72%), from posterior division in 9 specimens (18%), from external iliac artery in 1 specimen (2%) and from inferior epigastric artery in 3 specimens (6%). The superior vesical artery, inferior vesical artery, uterine artery, vaginal artery and superior gluteal artery were found to be constant in their origin and course. Conclusions : The branches anterior division of internal iliac artery shows multiple variations, knowledge about these variation are helpful in pelvic surgeries.

Morphological Study of Internal Iliac Artery.

Background: The internal iliac artery is the “artery of the pelvis”. It supplies most of the blood to the pelvic viscera, gluteal region, medial thigh region and perineum. A severe and potentially lethal complication in pelvic surgeries is arterial bleeding commonly involving the branches of internal iliac artery. While operating on pelvic organs, the knowledge of internal iliac artery and its variations is important for surgeons. The present study was conducted to study of morphology of internal iliac artery. Methods: 50 adult human pelvic halves were procured from embalmed cadavers of J.J.M. Medical College and S.S.I.M.S & R.C, Davangere, Karnataka, India for the study. Results: The classification of branching pattern of internal iliac artery was based on modified Adachi classification. Out of the 50 specimens studied, Type Ia arrangement was found in 52% of the specimens, Type III in 34%, Type IIa and type V was found in 2% each, Type IV was not found in any of the specimens and 10% of the specimens could not be classified because of the absence of inferior gluteal artery in them. Adachi Type Ia arrangement was the most frequent finding. The obturator artery took origin most frequently from the anterior division of internal iliac artery. Middle rectal artery was not constant. Conclusion: The internal iliac artery morphology shows multiple variation the knowledge is very helpful during pelvic surgeries.