title: Civilian gunshot wounds to the fingers treated with primary bone grafting.
abstract: Civilian gunshot injuries often consist of relative soft-tissue sparing and minimal contamination. Primary bone grafting with allograft for wounds limited to the digits was used in a one-stage reconstruction enabling bony union with minimal complications in this specific population. All patients suffering from small-calibre gunshot wounds to the hand treated between 2004 and 2006 with a single-stage surgery were reviewed. Surgery consisted of limited debridement and bone grafting of the fracture. Allomatrix was used in all of the patients. There were 12 patients; seven with isolated wounds to a finger. All of the patients had devastating bony injuries. The average follow-up period was 14 weeks. All patients progressed to bony healing. One patient had a second surgery for additional bone grafting. There were no complications. Relatively low contamination allows for primary bone grafting without increasing the risk of infection. This one-step approach to civilian gunshot wounds to the hand has minimal complications and allows for healing, while addressing the problem of non-compliance in this specific population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wollstein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016025:Bone Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005383:Finger Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005594:Fracture Fixation, Intramedullary / Q000379:methods; D017102:Fracture Healing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011859:Radiography; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D055815:Young Adult