Vascular injuries caused by anti-personnel mines.
During a 3 month period 94 patients, injured by anti-personnel mines on the Thailand-Cambodian border, underwent emergency surgical treatment in the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) hospital in Khao-I-Dang, Thailand. As a result of difficult evacuation facilities at the border, the mean time between injury caused by an anti-personnel mine and admission to the hospital was 8.3 hours (range: 2.5 to 14 hours). However, in 14 patients a penetrating vessel injury was sustained, and these underwent surgical treatment. Peripheral vascular repair was performed in 10 patients. The vessels involved in these reconstructions were: popliteal artery: 4, femoral artery: 2, anterior tibial artery: 3, femoral vein: 1. Vascular repair of the iliac artery and vein was performed in 1 patient. Limb amputation had to be performed in 3 patients, due to the long duration of tourniquet application in these cases. In the field conditions at Khao-I-Dang hospital many surgical facilities normally present in Western hospitals were unavailable. However, our series shows that satisfactory results could be obtained, despite adverse working conditions.
Fasol
R
R
Department of Surgery 2, University of Vienna, Austria.
Irvine
S
S
Zilla
P
P
D000293:Adolescent; D001753:Blast Injuries / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000293:injuries*; D002160:Cambodia; D004630:Emergencies; D005107:Explosions; D005121:Extremities / Q000098:blood supply*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011150:Popliteal Artery / Q000293:injuries; D013785:Thailand; D014187:Transportation of Patients; D014857:Warfare; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery