Damage control orthopaedics in 53 cases of severe polytrauma who have mainly sustained orthopaedic trauma

Objective： To discuss damage control orthopaedics in 53 cases of severe polytrauma who have mainly sustained orthopaedic trauma. Methods： The data of 53 cases of severe polytrauma who had mainly sustained orthopaedic trauma were retrospectively analyzed. And the methods and timing of damage control orthopaedics were discussed in this study. Results： We succeeded in rescuing the lives of all the 53 patients, and 38 patients returned to their former work. Conclusions： Injury Severity Score （ISS90） should be 17 in severe polytrauma patients, but in severe polytrauma patients who have mainly sustained orthopaedic trauma, the ISS90 of bone and joint injuries should be 16. We recommend that primary minimallyinvasive external fracture stabilization should be made for extremities and pelvis in these patients to avoid additional surgical trauma and that definitive secondary fracture care should be performed after medical stabilization for these patients in intensive care unit （ICU）.

Application of injury severity score to multiple injuries headed by spinal cord injury

Objective： To evaluate the application of injury severity score （ISS） to multiple injuries headed by spinal cord injury. Methods： The data of 55 cases （40 males and 15 females, aged 17-69 years, mean = 41 years） of multiple injuries headed by spinal cord injury treated in our hospital from January 2000 to December 2004 were reviewed and analyzed with ISS （Version of AIS-2005 ） to explore their relationship. Results ： The ISS values increased with the number of injured regions, so did the complications. The recovery rate was negatively related to ISS values. During the period of immunity observation, the patients with ISS 〉 25 could undergo planned operations safely. Conclusions： Treatment for multiple injuries headed by spinal cord injury closely depends on the general and local conditions of the patients. ISS may provide useful data for the choice of treatment methods.

Damage control of multiple injuries headed by cervica spinal cord injury

Objective ： To explore the strategy of damage control in clinical treatment of multiple injuries headed by cervical spinal cord injury. Methods： A retrospective analysis was performed in 32 patients. Cervical fractures associated with tetraplegia occurred in 18 patients, traumatic intervectebral disk hernia associated with tetraplegia in 2 patients, and cervical fractures and dislocation associated with tetraplegia in 12 patients. Seventeen cases were combined with craniocerebral injury, 7 combined with pulmonary contusion, multi-fractures of rib or hemopneumothorax, 2 combined with pelvic fracture and other 8 combined with fracture of limbs. The neural function was assessed by the American Spinal Injury Association （ASIA） scale. Results： Thirty-one patients were followed up for an average of 14 months. Of them, 10 got complete recovery, 13 obtained improvement of more than one ASIA grade, 8 did not improve, and 1 died. Conclusions ： For the emergency treatment of multiple injuries headed by cervical spinal cord injury, the damage control strategy is the principle to follow. The final operations are preferably performed within 5 to 10 days after injury so as to raise the successful rate of remedy.