Traumatic rupture of the right subclavian artery.

The number of patients admitted to hospital with major cardiovascular injuries following high-speed motor vehicle accidents is increasing. Injury to the left subclavian artery is well documented but there are only two case reports of injury to the right subclavian artery following blunt trauma without fractures of the clavicle or first rib. In one of the patients the artery was transected distally (Reid, 1967) and ultimately the vessel was ligated through a small cervical incision. The second patient (Matloff and Morton, 1968) presented with multiple injuries, one of which was a grossly ischaemic right arm. He died before surgical correction could be performed. Our patient presented with multiple injuries and a pulseless right arm. The clinical diagnosis of a right subclavian artery rupture was suspected because a good right carotid pulse was palpable.