Background: Management of penetrating colorectal injuries in the civilian trauma population has evolved away from diversionary stoma into primary repair or resection and primary anastomosis. With this in mind, we evaluated how injuries to the colon and rectum were managed in the ongoing war in Iraq.
Methods: The records of Operation Iraqi Freedom patients evacuated to National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) from March 2004 until November 2005 were retrospectively reviewed.