Amputations of limbs during the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan: a firsthand experience of the author

Purpose This is a descriptive analysis, of victims of Turkey's October 23, 2011 and November 21, 2011 Van earthquakes. The goal of this study is investigated the injury profile of the both earthquakes in relation to musculoskeletal trauma.Methods We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 3,965 patients admitted to in seven hospitals. A large share of these injuries were soft tissue injuries, followed by fractures, crush injuries, crush syndromes, nerve injuries, vascular injuries, compartment syndrome and joint dislocations. A total Conclusions The results of this study may provide the basis for future development of strategy to optimise attempts at rescue and plan treatment of survivors with musculoskeletal injuries after earthquakes.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Van earthquakes form an orthopaedic perspective: a multicentre retrospective study

Güner

Işık

et al. 2012

“…These presentations have been collected in this issue of International Orthopaedics, including the experience gathered from Haiti [1,2], the French Army [3], Pakistan [4], and the approach of Handicap International [5].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

SICOT contribution to natural disasters assistance

Hinsenkamp

2012

Among all human tragedies and injustices, specific circumstances such as natural disasters require an immediate worldwide mobilisation due to their rarity, the intensity of their damage and the human resources and logistics needed.SICOT, as the International Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, has the duty to participate in the coordination of such interventions. This is also a unique opportunity to test the international fraternity among the national representatives and the SICOT members.In the last seven years, the SICOT experience has been growing in this field. Following the earthquake in Pakistan in 2005, many SICOT members expressed their willingness to offer their services as orthopaedic surgeons and to provide medical assistance locally. SICOT, as a scientific association, does not have the logistics to organise such a medical intervention but provides an ideal international hub to direct medical forces, represented by the expertise and skill of its volunteering members, to humanitarian associations which have the professional experience to organise those missions.In the emergency situation in Muzafarabad in 2005, with the intervention of the National Delegate of Pakistan, Syed Awais, SICOT was able to facilitate the participation of the Cuban orthopaedic team sent by Rodrigo Alvarez Cambras, National Delegate of Cuba. However, more is needed to coordinate all the individual SICOT volunteers ready to provide surgical care on site should another disaster occur.In 2006, we started a collaboration with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and received 84 replies from SICOT members volunteering for emergency missions in the event of a natural disaster with mass casualties. In 2008, this volunteer group was provided with specific practical information to facilitate the emergency call up. A briefing session for European volunteers took place in Brussels to prepare future missions and provide them with relevant information on the equipment available and the practical conditions of an intervention. In addition, a CD produced by MSF was circulated to all volunteers with very comprehensive guidelines on emergencies, war surgery, mass casualty triage, and land mine injuries.In April 2008, the first concrete achievement of this collaboration was the delivery of essential drugs and basic necessities by MSF to the war-torn area of Basra, thanks to our National Delegate of Iraq, Thamer Hamdan.After the earthquake in Haiti, 16 SICOT volunteers from the existing list answered almost immediately to our appeal for help. Among them, two were enrolled in the MSF team according to their availability: Nanjundappa S. Harshavardhana and Kuldeep Sain. They have reported on their experiences in the SICOT Newsletter. SICOT's immediate action just after the earthquake was greatly appreciated by the MSF team. We had been well prepared since 2005 and our participation proved to be very efficient, even though only a small number took part.A review of the Haiti earthquake experience was presented during a symp...

“…On the morning of 5 October 2005 at 8.50 a.m. (Pakistan Standard Time), natures' fury shook the calm and tranquility of serene northeast Pakistan and western Kashmir, bringing anguish and woes to the lives of more than 3.5 million people [1]. The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.6 on the Richter scale, and its epicentre was in Muzaffarabad 90 km north of Islamabad.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The tremors and constant landslides multiplied the shock and trauma, while the onslaught of a harsh winter jeopardised the lives of survivors. This was without argument the most fatal natural catastrophe in Pakistan's history; recuperating from it has already cost billions, and the process of healing continues to this day [1,4]. The earthquake created a massive managerial task to aid the injured, from triage to rehabilitation [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of external fixators for damage-control orthopaedics in natural disasters like the 2005 Pakistan earthquake

Awais

Saeed

2014

Self Cite

Purpose In the 2005 Pakistan earthquake, the great many injured with multiple fractures and open wounds provided a unique opportunity to practice damage-control orthopaedics. External fixators remain a time-tested tools for operating surgeons on such occasions. The locally manufactured, readily available Naseer-Awais (NA) external fixator filled such needs of this disaster with good outcome. Methods This is a retrospective descriptive study of 19,700 patients that presented over seven months to the two centres established by the lead author (SMA) in Muzaffarabad and Mansehra just one night after the 2005 earthquake. A series of local and foreign orthopaedic surgeon teams operated in succession. The computerised patient data collection of 1,145 operations was retrospectively analysed. Results Of the 19,700 patients presenting to the SMA centres, 50 % had limb injuries. Total fracture fixations were 1,145, of which 295 were external fixations: 185 were applied on the lower limb and 90 on upper limb, the majority were applied on tibia. Conclusion External fixators are valuable damage-control tools in natural disasters and warfare injuries. The locally manufactured NA external fixator served the needs of the many limb injuries during the 2005 Pakistan earthquake.