REVIEWS  CRITICAL HAND ISCHEMIA 

Minerva Cardioangiologica 2016 December;64(6):613-24

Copyright © 2016 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Radiological anatomy of upper limb arteries and their anatomical variability: implications for endovascular treatment in critical hand ischemia

Giovanni MAURI ^{1, 2}, Marco FRESA ³, Matteo FERRARIS ³, Jorge ACUÑA-VALERIO ⁴, Meneme HAMADE ³, Gabriele DI LUCA ⁵, Gian Battista DANZI ⁶, Roberto FERRARESI ⁷ ✉

¹ Radiology Unit, San Donato Polyclinic and Institute for Scientific Research, San Donato Milanese, Milan, Italy; ² Division of Interventional Radiology, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy; ³ Division of Vascular Surgery, Humanitas Gavazzeni Clinic, Bergamo, Italy; ⁴ Faculty of Medical Sciences, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico; ⁵ Vascular Surgery Unit, G. Pini Orthopedic Institute, Milan, Italy; ⁶ Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Santa Corona Hospital, Pietra Ligure, Savona, Italy; ⁷ Peripheral Interventional Unit, Humanitas Gavazzeni Clinic, Bergamo, Italy

Critical hand ischemia (CHI) is a quite uncommon but highly disabling condition, generally caused by chronic occlusive arterial disease. For a correct approach to the endovascular treatment of these patients, good knowledge of the normal vascular anatomy and of the most frequently encountered vascular anatomical variations is of paramount importance. In the present paper a description of the normal vascular anatomy of the upper limb and of the most commonly encountered anatomical variations is provided, focusing on the implications for endovascular treatment of patients with CHI. Moreover, data of 151 patients with 172 critically ischemic hands treated at our institution between 2004 and 2016 are presented.