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Innocent Children in the Syrian Civil War
Mehmet Emin Çelikkaya1, Ahmet Atıcı2, Çigdem El3
1Department of Pediatric Surgery, Mustafa Kemal University, Faculty of Medicine, Pediatric Surgery Clinic, Serinyol, Hatay, Turkey.
Insights
Children injured in the Syrian civil war often require repeat surgeries for war-related injuries. Delayed intervention significantly increases mortality and morbidity in pediatric war victims.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Surgery
- War Surgery
- Trauma Care
Background:
- The Syrian civil war has led to a significant number of pediatric casualties requiring medical attention.
- Neighboring countries face medical, social, and economic impacts due to such conflicts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present the clinical and surgical characteristics of children affected by the Syrian civil war.
- To analyze injury patterns, surgical interventions, and outcomes in pediatric war victims.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of medical records for pediatric war victims (0-18 years) treated between March 2011 and March 2019.
- Evaluation included demographic data, injury type, surgical history in Syria, injured organs, and trauma scores.
Main Results:
- The study included 147 pediatric patients, with males comprising 73.46%.
- 83 patients underwent surgery in Turkey, with 17 requiring re-operation after prior surgery in Syria.
- Hollow organ injuries were the most common intra-abdominal pathologies.
Conclusions:
- War-related injuries in children necessitate complex surgical management, often involving multiple interventions.
- Delayed surgical intervention is linked to increased mortality and morbidity in pediatric war casualties.
- Effective management requires addressing both immediate trauma and long-term surgical needs.
Introduction:
Our aim is to present the clinical and surgical characteristics of the children affected by the Syrian civil war.
Materials And Methods:
Medical records were reviewed retrospectively for Syrian war victims between the ages of 0 and 18 who were brought to the emergency department of the Education and Research Hospital between March 2011 and March 2019. Each patient was evaluated with respect to demographic data (gender, age), type of injury, history of operations in Syria, injured organ(s), accompanying traumas and the mortality and trauma score.
Results:
The majority of our study population of 147 patients were male (108/147, 73.46%), and 39 of the total were girls (26.53%). The mean age of the patients was 9 (7.5 ± 4). The mean age of the girls was 8.5 (range: 7 months to 16 years), and the mean age of the boys was 9.2 (4 months to 17 years). Seventeen patients who had abdominal surgery in Syria were operated on again after clinical and radiological observations. A total of 83 patients were operated on in Turkey. For 66 of those patients, the operation in Turkey was their first surgery on their war injuries. Seventeen patients were operated on in Syria but needed surgery again in Turkey.
Conclusion:
War affects not only the battlefield, but also the neighboring countries in many aspects such as medical, social, and economic. Hollow organ injuries are the most common intraabdominal pathologies. Delayed intervention is associated with increase mortality and morbidity.
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