Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M P Habboushe.
This article reviews 850 cases of open fractures of the extremities caused by high velocity missiles and shell fragments, and treated by two varieties of external fixation devices. If a protocol for grading the severity of injury is followed, the results encourage avoiding sophisticated, expensive, and overdesigned external fixation systems.
This study involves 65 patients with severe war injuries to the extremities where all conventional and available lines of treatment have failed or a decision of amputation has been made. Twelve humeri, 45 tibiae and eight femura were studied. The sliding system was used on 39 patients and the compressor system on 26 patients. In the sliding system, gaps ranged from 2 cm to 12 cm. In the compressor system established nonunion, failed bone graft operations, infected pseudarthrosis and gaps less than 2 cm were studied. Salah Eddin external fixation systems, both sliding and compressor, were found to be efficient, biomechanically adequate, easy to apply and remove and able to replace considerable gaps with no risks of open surgery.
This paper describes our experience of 340 cases of open fracture treated at the Al- Rasheed Military Hospital with a simple external fixation device.