ABSTRACT
Most conflict injuries affect the limbs. Appropriate immediate treatment of these injuries and initiation of damage control principles saves lives and optimizes recovery, rehabilitation, and long-term function. Immediate formal surgical stabilization and reconstruction of wartime limb injuries is often limited by patient medical status and restrictions of resources, so rudimentary techniques like splinting, traction, and external fixation play a significant role in the initial stabilisation and management of these cases. Experience with these provisional techniques must be acquired by surgeons planning to work in conflict environments.
