GANGRENE FOLLOWING RADIAL ARTERY CANNULATION: A CASE PRESENTATION

Radial artery cannulation is a common procedure for measuring invasive blood pressure, blood sampling and frequent blood gas analysis. Though considered safe, this procedure can lead to many complications which can be minor or of a serious nature. Minor complications include bleeding from the entry site and temporary occlusion of the artery. Serious complications may include permanent occlusion of the blood flow and resultant gangrene of the digits of the hand. It is very important to recognize the ischemic changes in the initial stage and manage them accordingly so as to minimize the tissue damage. Here we present a case where a patient developed sign symptoms of gangrene in the hand after the arterial cannula was removed. Apart from the medical management, surgical intervention was required to remove the thrombus.