Upper Extremity Occlusive Disease

Unlike the lower extremity, the upper extremity is less likely to be affected with occlusive disease (10%) [17]. Di- agnosis and treatment of upper limb occlusive disease is often difficult for the following reasons: Most of the lesions are asymptomatic until the appear- ance of trophic lesions. Only 2.8%of all vascular reconstructive techniques are applied to the upper extremity. One-third of the lesions are proximal and accessible to reconstructive or endovascular techniques while two- thirds are distal lesions, where treatment is considered to be a therapeutic challenge [18]. Ischaemic problems in the upper extremity have many causes.Local,regional and systemic causes have been recognized.A precise aetiology is often difficult to es- tablish.