War wounds management--early reconstruction of soft tissue defects.

The authors emphasize that the knowledge of terminal ballistics is important for understanding the pathophysiology of war wounds. They present their own experiences in the treatment of war wounds in 504 casualties treated at the Institute of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Clinical Hospital Center in Zagreb. The locations of soft-tissue defects were: head and neck, 103; trunk, 90; and extremities, 903. War wounds were divided into four main categories with regard to the type of the injury and the extension of soft-tissue defect, thus showing the differences in primary excision and reconstruction of the wounds. About 30% of head and neck injuries were treated by primary or delayed primary reconstruction. All thoraco-abdominal wounds were type I or II, and most of them (53.3%) were reconstructed with split-thickness skin grafts. The greatest number of sophisticated reconstructions were performed on extremity injuries (63 wounds were reconstructed by local flaps, while free flaps were used in 40 cases). The authors emphasize the importance of proper primary treatment, which is the condition for early reconstruction. This results in significantly shorter hospitalization, so that 62% of the patients were cured in 20 days and then discharged to early rehabilitation.