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 (ISS(90)) should be 17 in severe polytrauma patients, but in severe polytrauma patients who have mainly sustained orthopaedic trauma, the ISS(90) of bone and joint injuries should be 16. We recommend that primary minimally-invasive 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).