RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: Treatment of war wounds is based on a sequential surgical strategy, which frequently faces therapeutic failures, which then burden the final functional result. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors of failure of the different treatments to prevent the therapeutic failure. METHODS: A monocentric case-control study was done on French war-wounded soldiers treated for an open fracture caused by an invasive war weapon. The primary end point was the treatment failure three months after the injury. The risk factors of failure studied were the traumatic mechanism, the general and local lesional assessment, and the surgery performed. RESULTS: Between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2016, 57 soldiers were included, with an average follow-up of 3.42 years. On 81 limb segments studied, the most injured segment was the leg (37.0%). A vital or urgent surgery requirement (OR = 1.56; p = 0.02) and bone loss substance (OR = 5.45; CI95% = 1.54-20.09) were risk factors of failure for limb salvage treatment. Improvised explosive device traumatic mechanism (OR = 1.56; p = 0.02) and the persistence of surgical site contamination after two debridement procedures (OR = 1.20; p = 0.04) were risk factors of failure for amputation procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Two main risk factors of treatment failure are highlighted: those in relation to traumatic mechanisms and general lesional assessment and those in relation to surgical site conditions. There is no over risk of failure in relation to surgical procedure and treatment.
Asunto(s)
Extremidades/cirugía , Adolescente , Adulto , Amputación Quirúrgica , Estudios de Casos y Controles , Extremidades/lesiones , Femenino , Fracturas Abiertas/cirugía , Humanos , Recuperación del Miembro/métodos , Masculino , Personal Militar , Traumatismos Ocupacionales/cirugía , Factores de Riesgo , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: The development of damage control orthopedics (DCO) procedures has led to the development of temporary unicortical external fixators (TUEFs) intended to limit deep infectious complications and facilitate early conversion to internal fixation. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted in two French military trauma centers, including on patients being treated for tibial fractures with a TUEF (UNYCO® - Orthofix®) followed by an early conversion to intramedullary nailing. RESULTS: Eleven patients with an average age of 41 were included between September 2015 and June 2017. A total of 12 TUEFs were implanted for one closed fracture and 11 open fractures, including one type I, eight types II, and two Gustilo types IIIB. The indication of DCO was related to hemodynamic instability in three cases, to the severity of soft tissue lesions in eight cases, and to the context of treatment in one case. The conversion to IM nailing was made after an average of 7.6 days. No significant loss of reduction was observed until internal osteosynthesis, which was performed with "fixator in place" in ten cases. The coverage of Gustilo type III injuries was performed by free flap transfers at the same time as IM nailing. All the patients were reviewed with an average follow-up of 16.5 months. Bone union was achieved in all cases. Two IM nailing dynamizations were carried out, but no bone grafting was required. Two cases of pandiaphysitis were observed and treated without functional complications. DISCUSSION: Despite a limited number of patients, this study demonstrates the reliability of the TUEF to maintain the reduction of tibial fractures and facilitate early conversion to IM nailing. Unicortical fixation does not prevent septic complications related to the severity of soft tissue injuries.