Treatment of type IIIa open fractures with Ilizarov fixation and delayed primary closure in high-velocity gunshot wounds

A total of 142 patients with 163 Gustilo-Anderson type IIIa limb fractures resulting from high-velocity gunshot wounds were treated with primary delayed closure and Ilizarov fixation in our department between 1988 and 1998. Average follow-up was 72.4 months. The average union period in fractures wit...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Military medicine 2002, Vol.167 (1), p.56-62
Main Authors: ATESALP, Ali Sabri, YILDIZ, Cemil, BASBOZKURT, Mustafa, GÜR, Brig Gen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Arm Injuries - surgery
Biological and medical sciences
Debridement
Female
Firearms
Fractures, Bone - surgery
Humans
Ilizarov Technique
Infections
Injuries
Leg Injuries - surgery
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Open fractures
Orthopedic surgery
Orthopedics
Patients
Surgeons
Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases
Velocity
Wounds, Gunshot - complications
Wounds, Gunshot - surgery
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A total of 142 patients with 163 Gustilo-Anderson type IIIa limb fractures resulting from high-velocity gunshot wounds were treated with primary delayed closure and Ilizarov fixation in our department between 1988 and 1998. Average follow-up was 72.4 months. The average union period in fractures without bone loss was 16.8 weeks. It took 2 months for each 1 cm of bone defect to heal in fractures with bone loss. All fractures healed with good anatomic alignment and functional outcomes. Complications included pin-track infection in 72 fractures (50.7%), post-traumatic osteomyelitis in 5 tibial fractures without bone loss (3.1%), delayed union in 25 fractures (15.3%), nonunion in 10 (4 with bone loss) fractures (6.1%), and refracture in 4 fractures (2.4%). Our results indicate that type IIIa limb fractures caused by high-velocity gunshot wounds can be treated with Ilizarov fixation and primary delayed closure with a low overall complication rate and a remarkably low infection rate.
ISSN:0026-4075
1930-613X
DOI:10.1093/milmed/167.1.56