Traumatic Amputations in Military Personnel: From The Perspective of Forensic Medicine

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 7 Sayı: 1, 156 - 161, 15.01.2025

Hüseyin Balandız , Burak Kaya , Sait Özsoy

https://doi.org/10.37990/medr.1588716

Öz

Aim: Traumatic amputations are devastating injuries that occur suddenly and unexpectedly, resulting in the loss of a body part. This study was aimed at evaluating cases of traumatic amputations from a medico-legal perspective.
Material and Method: The forensic reports prepared by the Department of Forensic Medicine, Gülhane Training and Research Hospital (fka; Gülhane Military Medical Academy), between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2014 were examined retrospectively and the cases who had traumatic amputations analyzed in depth.
Results: All of the cases (n=72) were male, and the mean age at the time of the injury was 24.2 (±4.3) years. Almost all the cases (97.2%) were soldiers. It was determined that the most common cause of trauma among all cases was work accident (51.5%), followed by explosion injuries (26.4%). Traumatic amputations were mostly seen in the upper extremity (83.3%), followed by lower the extremity (12.5%) and both upper and lower extremities (4.2%). The most common cause of upper extremity amputations was work accidents, while lower extremity amputations were mostly caused by blast injuries. While 58.3% of the amputations were minor (fingers only), 41.7% were major. It was determined that psychiatric disorders developed in 19.4% of the cases after traumatic amputation.
Conclusion: Traumatic amputations are among the issues that need to be carefully examined because they occur especially at the young age group and cause disabilities in the affected people. It is necessary to reduce trauma, which is one of the important causes of amputations, to take precautions by using personal protective equipment, and to not neglect treatment and follow-up. The majority of patients in developing nations, like Türkiye, struggle to receive pre-hospital care, which proves to be a major challenge for trauma care, especially in military cases. It is of great importance that psychiatric follow-up of people is carried out in the early and late periods after amputation and that social support and appropriate treatments are not neglected.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Amputation, trauma, forensic medicine, military personnel

Kaynakça

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