gms | German Medical Science

Objectives/Interrogation: Since introduction and organization of major trauma centers worldwide, the overall mortality decreased significantly. This is a result of close multidisciplinary approach between surgical specialties as general, orthopedic, neurosurgery and plastic surgery. Furthermore progresses in microsurgery and their adaptation to trauma surgery have contributed consistently to the improvement of patients' outcome and postsurgical quality of life. The aim of the study is to show a precise picture of traumatic upper limb pathology distribution from our plastic surgery department.

Methods: We assessed all upper limb cases admitted in our unit between 1st of January and June 30th 2018, from which we excluded the tumoral emergencies and chronic pathologies.

Results and Conclusions: Our clinic is one of the busiest department from Romania in terms of acute surgical pathologies which requires a plastic surgeon expertise. From the number of 2064 acute upper limb cases 80% involved hand injuries, followed by forearm (16%) and arm injuries (4%). Males were three times more affected than women and the median age was 47. The leading causes of trauma were contact with different types of saws, sharp cuts, crushing injuries, infections and bites. All this produced a wide range of injuries from simple wounds to amputations of different levels. We identified in the top of pathology distribution tendon injuries (17%), followed by fractures (13%), simple wounds (12%), fingertips lesions, nerve lacerations, amputations.

Emergency Clinical Hospital from Bucharest deals with a wide palette of acute upper limb events, from simple lacerations to polytrauma patients who need an interdisciplinary approach. Within our trauma team the plastic together with orthopedic surgeons plays a pivotal role between other surgical specialties.