Mo. Hansen et al., A PROSPECTIVE EVALUATION OF ORTHOPEDIC PATIENTS EVACUATED FROM OPERATIONS DESERT SHIELD AND DESERT-STORM - THE WALTER REED EXPERIENCE, Military medicine, 159(5), 1994, pp. 376-380
A prospective review of all orthopedic casualties received from the so
uthwest Asia theater of operations during Operations Desert Shield and
Desert Storm was carried out at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. An i
njury analysis of the 181 orthopedic patients revealed 143 total fract
ures in 69 patients, with the remaining patients sustaining soft tissu
e injuries from trauma, overuse, or pre-existing conditions. Seventy p
ercent of the fractures were open, of which 23% were treated with exte
rnal fixators and 41% eventually underwent an operative stabilization
procedure. An analysis of the distribution of injuries is given as wel
l as the incidence of amputations, nerve injuries, and arterial injuri
es. Early multidisciplinary involvement in the care of these casualtie
s proved to be greatly beneficial.