Reconstruction of blast injuries of the hand and upper limb.
Over recent years, hand surgeons in the Middle East and Arabic region have particularly had to deal with an increasing number of war blast injuries to the upper extremity, in the acute, subacute and chronic phases. Many have been referred from War Zone countries such as Iraq and, more recently, Syria, where the resources to treat such complex injuries are scarce. The present article is a comprehensive review of the basic principles of management of blast injuries based on the available literature merged with the authors' personal experience of these injuries. The state of the art in treatment of blast injuries to the hand, from ammunition physics and wound ballistics to radiological investigation and, ultimately, the principles of surgical management are discussed.
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hand and Microsurgery, American University of Beirut Medical Centre, P.O. Box 11 - 0236, Riad El-Solh, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon. Electronic address: yb11@aub.edu.lb.
Joseph
J
Bakhach
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hand and Microsurgery, American University of Beirut Medical Centre, P.O. Box 11 - 0236, Riad El-Solh, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon.
Ghassan
G
Abu-Sitta
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hand and Microsurgery, American University of Beirut Medical Centre, P.O. Box 11 - 0236, Riad El-Solh, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon.
Saad
S
Dibo
D001753:Blast Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D003646:Debridement / Q000379:methods; D006225:Hand / Q000294:innervation* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D023821:Limb Salvage; D008877:Middle East; D008889:Military Personnel; D054843:Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy; D009779:Occlusive Dressings; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000517:prevention & control; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000293:injuries / Q000294:innervation* / Q000601:surgery; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures; D014945:Wound Healing; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*